I’ve always maintained that every time a child steps onto the football field, tackle or flag, it’s an opportunity to improve. At the youth level, many leagues have all teams making the playoffs, and that allows every kid to experience at least one extra game. But if you you’re going to have every team in the “playoffs,” then I think it’s a good idea to make things a little more interesting.

In my son Bradley’s tackle football league, there is a multi-tiered playoff system in place that gives all teams, regardless of their records, an opportunity to compete for a championship. How many tiers you have depends on how many teams there are at a particular age group, but in Bradley’s league, there have generally been two or three tiers at each level.

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The teams with the best records will compete for tier one title, then the teams with the next-best records would play for the tier two championship, and the teams that have the least wins or points (Bradley’s league gives two points for a win and one point for a tie) would play in the tier three playoffs. Every team gets at least one playoff game against an opponent that ideally would make for a competitive contest.

When you’re talking about kids and every team making the playoffs, it doesn’t make any sense to me to have a team that went 8-0 to play against a team that went 0-8. Playing an extra game is important for a child, but do you think it’s a good idea for a season to end on the wrong end of a 35-0 score? I don’t, and that’s why I believe that the tiered playoff system makes sense, because it gives every team a chance to make a run at a title while also getting some valuable experience.

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In Bradley’s first year at the pee-wee level, his team did not have a very good regular season in terms of record, but they won the tier three “Super Bowl.” His teams have also had great seasons where they played in the tier one playoffs, but this year, it looks like they’re headed to the tier two postseason. The playoff games should be competitive, and a system likes this makes all the sense in the world. 

I’ve come across some parents who look at this system as being unnecessary and that a team should earn a trip to the playoffs. I can understand that feeling to a certain extent, but if you are like me and believe that experience at a young age is vital, then this system works. Also, if every team is going to make the playoffs, then give every team a chance to win.

I’ve never seen a bigger smile on Bradley’s face than the day his team won the “Super Bowl,” and I’d love to see that happen again this year. I’m also curious to see how my younger son Jared’s flag football league runs its playoffs. Every team is in, but we’re new to the league, so it will be interesting to see how they do things. It’s playoff time, and that’s a good thing, no matter what level your child is in! 

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Peter Schwartz is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network and WCBS 880 Radio in New York. His oldest son, Bradley, plays youth football on Long Island while his younger son, Jared, plays flag football. Peter, his wife Sheryl and the boys are busy cheering on the New York Jets when they’re not at a youth football field.