General Information

Established in 1964, the Arlington Cowboys football program is in its 45th year serving the youth of Arlington Heights. Cowboys football is a program of the Arlington Heights Youth Athletic Association (AHYAA). This year begins the 9th year of the Northwest Youth Football League (NWYFL).  Arlington Heights is a charter franchise within the 5-member league. The other towns that have NWYFL football programs are Palatine, Schaumburg, Elk Grove, and Mt. Prospect.

The Arlington Cowboys have a long-standing tradition in the community that spans over 40 years. Cowboy participants of past years treasure great memories of their playing in the Cowboy program, and many now have children of their own playing Cowboy football.

Your Arlington Cowboys Football program is proud to embrace the "Character Counts ! " initiative, which is fundamental to the core of what we instruct in Arlington Cowboy Football. As an organization, we hold the coaches and all parents to these standards as well. We welcome participation from any person who shares these values and who is willing and able to offer their time to the program. We will assure the future of this outstanding program thru participation from within our community.

The Cowboys have a Flag program for youths five through seven years old (start of school year) and a Tackle program for those from eight to fourteen years of age. Fourteen year-olds must still be in middle school.

Registration for both the Flag and Tackle programs occurs in April and May, and some late-registrations may be permitted depending upon equipment and roster-space availability. Within some NWYFL limits, non-residents may also apply to play in the Cowboys program.

Most player equipment is provided by the Cowboys and every effort is made to ensure the safest experience possible. Helmets are routinely certified, and out-of-date equipment is replaced on a regular basis. The player must provide athletic shoes (football shoes or other), practice jersey, socks, and an athletic supporter.

The Flag program is a “house program” with teams playing against other Arlington Heights teams. The Tackle program is a “travel” program with approximately half of the games played on an Arlington Heights home field and the remainder played on a field outside of Arlington Heights. Flag games are generally played on Saturday mornings, while the Tackle games are scheduled on Saturday and Sunday at various times throughout the day. Flag teams are organized with players in the same neighborhood where possible. Tackle program teams are organized using a draft process.

The 2008 Arlington Cowboy season will begin this year with the customary Kick-Off Practice on Monday, July 28th at 6:00 PM, at  Hersey High School. From 7:30 PM to 8:00 PM that evening we will have a Parents Meeting that we strongly encourage you to attend. On that first practice day, players need to wear gym shorts, Cowboys jersey (if available) or other jersey, football spikes, and their assigned Cowboys helmet (Tackle players only). The players MUST bring adequate drinking water on this day and to every practice and game –1/2 gallon minimum recommended.

We look forward to an outstanding the 2008 Cowboy season.