2024 Season Info Night presentation
2024-Info_Night Feb 25.pdfReflections on Team Sports
EASTSIDE ELEVATED with LWHS Football Coach Andy Arena
Understanding the Football Program
Overview
Kang Football is comprised of several separate but related programs that are intended to provide student athletes with year-round fitness, training and team building activities.
Athletic Seasons
The Lake Washington School District divides the year into Winter Sports, Spring Sports, Summer Athletics and Fall Sports. Football is considered a Fall Sport with Summer Athletics.
Spring Season (Summer Athletics) - Runs early June 6 through early July. This season gives players and coaches a chance to get to know each other, practice, experiment with different positions and learn about Kang Football. The season concludes with a team scrimmage. Registration opens late May.
Summer Practices - Held on July, days and times TBD. These practices help the team build skills and connections.
GRIT Camp - A 3-day trip where players and coaches can bond, work on skills and practice. Full details available at https://www.kangfootball.com/camp
Speed and Strength Training (Spring & Summer) - Team building, weight training and physical fitness. Meets typically 4 days a week in the weight room.
Fall Season - Runs mid Aug - early Dec. Games are weekly and culminate with the Playoffs and State Championship. Registration is open early Aug.
Strength and Conditioning (Fall & Winter) - Team building, weight training and physical fitness. Meets typically 4 days a week in the weight room.
To participate in any of these activities, student athletes must be registered with the district during the open enrollment period for each season.
Kang Moms
See what these Kang Moms think about Kang Football and the impact the program has had on their kids.
FootballInterview3.mp4How We Manage It
Managing a football program with multiple teams and a 100+ players, coaches and staff across the whole year is complex. Some elements are managed by the Lake Washington School District and others are managed by the Kang team and the Gridiron Booster Club.
Lake Washington School District - Requires athletes to be registered for Summer Athletics to participate in the spring and summer football activities and register separately for the Fall Football season. Parents can go to Final Forms, fill out and submit the 3 required registration forms, then pay the district managed fees using Online Payments during each enrollment period.
Kang Team Coaches / Gridiron Club - The coaches and Gridiron Club partner together to coordinate and manage the day to day team communications, schedules and events with the goal of having the coaches spend as much time as possible with the players and the Gridiron Club being the primary connection to the parents and the community.
Registering for the Summer or Fall Football Season
There are several steps involved in registering your student for the football program, getting them connected with the team communications system and making sure that parents/guardians are kept informed.
Student Activities
Students must with their parent/guardian's permission register for a Hudl account at Hudl.com/jointeam. Use Team Code: fdgwvj3
Parent Activities
Parents must register their player on the LWSD website by going to Final Forms, filling out and submitting the 3 required registration forms, then pay the district managed fees using Online Payments during each enrollment period. This can only be done during the open registration periods.
Required Parent/Guardian Volunteer Time
When you look at all the games and events throughout the year across all three teams, there are more than 100 jobs that require a volunteer. We need each student athlete's family to take on at least two of these jobs so that we can cover everything.
Program Cost
The football program is completely dependent on parents and guardians in the three key areas of financing, volunteering and being a fan. Without this support the program cannot run.
We appreciate and acknowledge that every family's situation is different. For some families, time and financing are easy to give. For other families, time or money might be more of a challenge and we understand that too. That's why we are a Kang Family! We look for each family to help the best they can, where and when they can and we trust that we'll have more than enough time and money to do what is needed to give the players a great experience.
Matching Funds & Matching Time
Many companies will provide matching funds for financial donations employees make to qualified charities. In some cases companies will also make a financial contribution for each volunteer hour their employees spend on qualified charities. The Gridiron Club is recognized by the IRS as a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization.
Please consider if your donations can be matched by your employer and submit the requests whenever possible.
Fundraising
We appreciate that families have their own views and abilities when it comes to paying for their student athlete's program costs.
If a family is able and wants to write a check upfront for the season costs and not engage in community fundraising, that is fine. For others, the Gridiron Club coordinates several fundraising activities throughout the year to help families defer the program costs. These events may include:
Hour-A-Thon - Students collect names of extended family and friends and make calls asking for financial donations
Gold Book - Athletes can sell coupon books that advertise local businesses
Auction - A Kang football tradition. The Annual Auction is a chance to eat, drink, socialize and bid on fabulous merchandise
Program Advertisements - We sell advertisement space in the game program
Check out our current Fundraising Campaigns
Scholarships & Scholarship Donations
When possible, the Gridiron Club tries to offer partial or full financial scholarships for student athletes for who need it. We don't want finances to be a blocker to students who want to play football.
We gratefully accept donations from individuals and businesses that wish to contribute to funding scholarships.
Program costs per Player - funded through parent donations
Be a Fan!
An essential part of any successful football program are the Fans. We encourage all parents, guardians, family and friends to come out to each game and cheer on the Kangs!
When the stands are full of excited, encouraging and supportive fans, the athletes feel and feed on the energy. It enhances their confidence and commitment and they dig a little deeper and give the game their all.
You can also wear your Kang Pride by visiting the online KangStore to buy your favorite Kang Gear.
Additional Information and Questions
Parents and Guardians should start by reviewing this page as well as Key Dates and Frequently Asked Questions.
If you have additional questions please contact:
JR Duryee, Gridiron Booster Club President (President@KangFootball.com)
Coach Andy Arena, LWHS Head Coach (aarena@lwsd.org)