We use football as a vehicle to teach our players about the values of honesty, loyalty, commitment, work ethic, sportsmanship, pride, integrity, and discipline.  These core values are the backbone of a successful football team and are qualities that serve as the basis for success in all of life's endeavors.  We believe that young people should be challenged to live these ideals.  This process will develop better football players, better athletes, better students, and most importantly, better individuals.

We Have The Right Philosophy - everything we do is geared towards the total development of the individual child.

We Build The Right Coaching Teams - our coaches are selected carefully, trained thoroughly, and are individuals "who love the game and love the kids".

We Provide Individual Attention - our player-to-coach ratio of less than 5:1 allows us to work with each player as an individual based on their skills and needs.

We Stress Accountability - all members of our football family are held accountable to each other for their actions, inactions, and behavior - there are no exceptions.

We Compete Against the Best - as a member of the Catholic Grade School Conference we play a highly competitive schedule in the premier grade school league in Chicago.

Who is eligible to play for All Saints Catholic Academy?

The program is open to children who will be in 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grade during the 2012/2013 school year.  Students from All Saints are obviously eligible; in addition, children from the following parishes who are registered in religious education are also eligible:

• St. Elizabeth Seton
• Holy Spirit
• St. Thomas the Apostle
• St. Margaret Mary

How are the teams organized?

The program features 2 teams - and Junior Varsity (JV) team and a Varsity team.  The JV is made up of 4th, 5th and 6th graders while the Varsity is made up of 7th and 8th graders.

Are there any weight limits?

Both the JV and Varsity levels are subject to weight limits. 

At the JV level the maximum weight is 130 pounds.  Players over 105 pounds but less than 130 pounds can play, but are limited to playing certain positions on the line of scrimmage (e.g., they cannot carry the football).  JV age players can play up at the Varsity level.

At the Varsity level the maximum weight is 185 pounds with position restrictions on players over 140 pounds.  Varsity age players cannot play down at the JV level.

Who does All Saints compete against?

The teams compete in the Catholic Grade School Conference of Chicago.  There were 17 teams in 2011.  For more information on the league please visit www.cgscsports.org.
 

Will there be a tryout in order to make the team? 

Our philosophy is that if a child is willing to put in the effort there will be a place on our team for them.  There are no tryouts and no cuts.  However, there are also no "minimum play rules" as there are in some in-house leagues.  This means that playing time may not be divided equally.

Our objective is to get our players into game situations.  While we are a travel team that counts wins and losses we firmly believe that giving our players the opportunity to compete in games and rewarding players for hard work in practice is just as important.

How many games are there in a season?

The regular season league schedule includes 7 or 8 games.  There are also playoffs for teams that qualify.

When and where will games be played?

Home games will be played in the Naperville area.  Road games will be played at a variety of locations across the Chicago area. 

Most games are played on Sundays with the JV starting at 12:30PM and the Varsity starting at 2:00PM.  Some games are scheduled for Saturday nights.

What about practice time?

During the first two weeks of pre-season (prior to school starting) we will practice 4 nights per week.  Once school starts we will practice 3 nights per week.  Exact practice days, times and location will be determined.

Who are the Head Coaches?

Coaching teams will be assembled.  The head coaches are Frank Ribaudo at the Varsity level and Marc Jackson at the Junior Varsity level.   Frank Ribaudo also serves as the Program Director. 


You should feel free to contact Frank if you have any questions about the program. 

Are you looking for full-time and part-time coaching help?

The goal at both levels is to build a solid coaching team.  We strongly believe that coaching makes a huge difference!  We strive to achieve a ratio of players to coaches of less than 5:1.  This allows us to practice much more like a high school team.   The more coaches and aides we have the more we can focus attention on small groups of kids and work on individual positions, assignments, skills, and techniques.

Anyone who works with the kids in any capacity needs to have the Protecting God's Children certification and an ASEP Coaches certification issued through the league.

How is the All Saints program connected to St. Raphael Football?

The All Saints program is a proud member of the St. Raphael Football family which provided over 3,000 children with the opportunity to play football in 2011 through its in-house and travel teams.  The All Saints program subscribes to the same values as the St. Raphael program and believes in total child development as the primary objective of playing football.

What is the total cost of this program?

The total cost of the program is the same cost as the in-house program - $120 or $195 per family if more than 1 child participates. 

The team provides shoulder pads, game jersey, and game pants, all of which are returned at the end of the season. 

Players provide their own helmets, practice pants, game socks, padding for pants, mouthpiece, practice jersey, etc. 

If you are not familiar with the St. Raphael's Football program check out the website at www.straphaelfootball.org.

Unity, Discipline, Maximum Effort