After preparing all week, gameday brings about a whole different set of emotions for a football player of any age, particularly a young player. As part of the Football Development Model, the gameday etiquette is vital to being physically and mentally ready to step onto the field. What works for one player may not work for another, but the bottom line is to find a routine that works.

Games are generally on Saturday evening or Sunday morning/afternoon. If a game is on Saturday night, the gameday etiquette can be challenging because there was so much time between waking up and getting ready to play. When a game was on Sunday, things can be expedited a bit because wakeup had to be earlier and there wasn’t as much time to get ready.

For a Saturday night game, we would try to keep our family activity close to home because we wanted to give my son enough time to rest, focus and get ready for the game. For a Sunday morning or afternoon game, things would be a bit more hectic, but we all kept to our routine. A longer drive to some away games meant an earlier wakeup, but that just means you adapt and wake up earlier. 

I don’t think we could have ever made our way out the door and into the car on time without my wife. The Football Development Model calls for a good football mom and she’s the best. I think that is going to be a story for another day!

Once my son was in uniform, he would put on his headphones and relax by listening to music. After we put the equipment in the car and proceeded to drive to the game, he would continue to listen to music. When we arrived at the field, we could barely wish him good luck before he raced off to be with his teammates. From there, the etiquette was turned over to the coaches until the game was over.

After a game, we would generally go straight to get either lunch or dinner.  If the stars aligned, sometimes many, if not all, of the players and families would go grab a meal together. It was a great way for the kids to bond and have fun after a hard-fought game. It was also a good time for the parents and coaches to get together.

The emotions have always been different depending on the result of the game. After tough losses, my son was a bit hard to deal with, so we let him have his space for a little while. After wins, there was another challenge of getting him to calm down and get his feet back on planet earth, but parents just have to find the correct routines -- that goes for both before and after the games.     

In middle school and then in high school, the game day etiquette changes because the kids are more independent. By that point, they’ve all hopefully been prepared with the gameday etiquette at home that they know what they have to do on their own to get ready.

Peter is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network, FOX News Headlines 24/7 and WCBS 880 Radio in New York.  His son Bradley plays middle school football on Long Island and is a participant in the U.S. National Team program while his younger son Jared plays flag football.   Peter, his wife Sheryl and the boys are busy cheering on the New York Jets and the XFL’s New York Guardians when they’re not at a youth football field.