Battle of the States 2025

Description

Nation Qualifier for 5 Star Nation NYFC National Championships December 12-14. Teams must qualify at a qualifying event in order to participate in Nationals. All participants of each team must have a State ID/Passport or be SPORTSCERT/NSID

• Tournament
• All teams
• Boys & Girls: 14U-8U
• Ability: Elite/Competitive
• $150.00 entry fee
• 2 game guarantee

General Information

Welcome to The Battle of the States Tournament . The Battle of the States Play-off Series will consist of National Qualifiers located in some of the Nations Football Hotbeds such as OH, TN, MO, GA, SC, AL, PA, IN, NY, KY, NV, MS

The age cutoff date for certification if 7/1/2025.  This means whatever age you are on 6/30/2025 is the age you can play or higher.  EXAMPLE: An athlete can turn 13 on 7/1/2025 and would be elgible for 12u.

WINNERS QUALIFY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE NYFC CHAMPIONSHIPS December 12-14 IN ATLANTA, GA

We have assembled one of the nation’s strongest youth football scouting teams which is proud to present the nation’s seasonal ranking youth football tournament. There will be multiple opportunities for teams to compete in this prestigious National Tournament throughout the year. This national tournament which consist of top teams from around the country, guarantees (2) two games over this exciting 2 day weekend. Teams will compete in (age only) brackets, this is an unlimited weight tournament. Age brackets are as follows: 6u, 7u, 8u, & 9u teams will play for the top rankings in their respective age divisions in the nation. Don’t miss this opportunity to prepare your team for a championship season by competing against the best of the best. 

1. Schedule:  Will drop November 5th.  We will have a mandatory zoom call to release the schedule and discuss rules - Zoom Link will be emailed out to all the team administrators and coaches. Tuesday November 5th 8:00 PM CST and 9:00 PM EST will be the zoom meeting. All teams will need a representative present on the call.

2.  Team Check-in: will be 2 hours before your first game.  All players must be present and teams must check in together as a team.  We will cross reference the roster you submitted with the roster management form you will need to fill out when you register your team. 

We will only accept State ID, National Sports ID (Click Here), or Passports. 

3.  Games: Bracket play starts on Saturday.  Championship games will be played on Sunday.

4.  Awards:

5 Star Champion will receive Championship Trophy, MVP Award and first place medals. 2nd Place will receive Runner-Up Trophy and Medals.   Both champion and runner-up will receive bids to nationals in the 5 Star Rec Division.

Venues for the event:

-Serpico Field, 900 25th Ave, Melrose Park, IL 60160
-De Lasalle High School, 3434 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60616 


Hotels:

Below is information for reserving your hotels for the The Battle of the States with:

If you wish to explore our discounted hotel options near the venues for our event, please visit:

FOR DISCOUNTED HOTEL RATE OPTIONS - CLICK HERE 

WE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY CASH AT THE GATE. 

There will be NO CASH accepted for entry at the gate.  You may use any other form of electronic payment (Credit/Debit Cards, ApplePay, GooglePay, SamsungPay, and CashApp).  Tickets not purchased online through our website will incur an additional service charge of $3 per ticket at front gate during time of purchase.

Admission (All Tickets Are Purchased by Events, Not By Teams/Games)

Weekend Discount Pass: The weekend discount pass will cover 2 days, November 9th and November 10th

Earlybird Weekend Passes must be purchased before November 9th to receive discount.

Adult Earlybird Weekend Pass - $25 available when purchased before November 9th.  

Student  (ages 5-13)  Earlybird Weekend Pass - $15 available when purchased before Novemeber 9th.

Saturday:
Free for 4 & under
$10 for student ticket (ages 5-13)
$15 for Adult Daily Ticket

Sunday:
Free for 4 & under
$10 for student ticket (ages 5-13)
$15 for Adult Daily Ticket

Your may purchase your tickets online in advance HERE

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE EVENT TICKETS

There will be no outside food allowed on the premises. There will be a concession on site for food, snack and beverage options.  This include game snacks for teams. Teams will only be allowed to bring in team water and Gatorade in coolers. Only team coolers will be allowed that must come in with the team.  There will be police/security at the gate to enforce this mandate. 

Please keep in mind that the following is not allowed into the venue and all bags will be subject to being checked by the police/security at the gate:
- No Outside Food or Drinks
- No Coolers (Only Team Cooler)
- No Pets (Leave your dogs at home)
- No Alcohol on school premises
- No Smoking on school premises
- No Weapons

The following are allowed:
- Tents
- Chairs
- Good Sportsmanship

Tournament Ages: 8 - 13 years of age

Games:  2 Game Elimination Brackets 

1st Place Trophies and second place medals in all brackets !!!


TOURNAMENT RULES

Game time is game time:  If team is 15 minutes late game will be forfeited.
   
8U Division: 10 minute quarters , 2 time outs per half , Clock stops on change of possession , incomplete passes and time-outs. 1 coach allowed on the field for offense and defense.
- No Kick-offs, ball placed at the 35 yard line
- No Punts -  Punts will be walked off 25yds from line of scrimmage
- Extra points - Running 1pt  , Throwing 2 pts
- Defensive players cannot line-up over center
- Mercy Rule:  After 20pt lead -  Game will turn into running clock  - Mercy rule no blitz


9U-14U Division: 10 minute quarters , 2 time outs per half , Clock stops on change of possession , incomplete passes and time-outs.  
- Extra points - Running 1pt, Throwing and Kicking 2 pts
- No special teams
- Mercy Rule:  After 20pt lead -  Game will turn into running clock

Overtime:  In case of overtime  , Ball will be placed on the 20 yd line.  Each team will have the oppotunity to advance the ball and score. Should one team score and the opposing team is stopped, then the team that scored wins.   If both teams score the same amount of points , then the ball is placed on 10yd and each team has 4 plays to score.  If the game ends in another tie , then the final overtime will be determined by penetration.

  
Age Eligibility:  All players must on official league roster in order to participate.  League age requirements take precedent. All players must wear  wrist bands issued at certification.  In the event that a wristband comes off, the player must recertify with a team coach.
   
Weight:  Weight is unlimited for this tournament.
 
Uniforms: Each team must have a home and away jersey - Home team .Home Team- White, Visitors - Dark.
 
Code of Conduct:

Coach’s Conduct
We expect coaches to behave professionally.  Any verbal or personal attacks on referees or staff will not be tolerated.  Coaches will be issued one warning.  After the initial warning , the coach in question will be expelled from the competition and will not be allowed to coach the next game.

Coach’s Passes
Coaches must have on Coaches passes to be on the sideline.  Head coach will be issued wrist bands at registration. Wristbands must be worn the entire weekend.  All coaches must be signed in.  We will only issue wristbands once.   Each team will be issued 5 wristbands only.
 
Parents/Fans
Parents are not allowed on sideline or playing field,  Any team violating this rule, will be issued a 15yd penalty at the 1st warning.  2nd warning, Head Coach will be removed from the game.