Jim Barry, president of Zionsville Youth Football League (ZYFL), says the organization’s football and cheer programs have both grown drastically.
“ZYFL has seen growth of over 300% in the past five years,” Barry says. “We believe the success of both football and cheer are due to our great team. The dedication to ensuring our kids all have an amazing experience in cheer and football is a huge part of our success. Liz Morehouse has been the steady hand in cheer. Kyle Riddle, Chris Coffman, Josh Medvescek, Andrew Manna, Tyson Clemmer, Chris Morris and many others have been phenomenal over their years serving the ZYFL and volunteering their time in the community.”
Barry is very proud of ZYFL.
“Our Zionsville Youth Football League earned Gold Level status with USA Football for recognition of our commitment to raising operational standards and providing great environments for athletes and their families,” Barry says.
Barry is optimistic about an increased number of registrations for ZYFL.
“We are very encouraged with our growth,” Barry says. “It is even more incredible considering that other youth football and cheer programs in Indiana are not seeing the same level of growth we are experiencing. The youth sports opportunities are more abundant than they have ever been, and we are thrilled that people are choosing ZYFL.”
Barry would like to encourage more athletes in the community to join the ZYFL program.
“Football is a sport that allows for entry point at any age or experience level,” Barry says. “We offer K through second-grade flag football. We offer a third-grade tackle bar league that is a fantastic transitional league to prepare for tackle football. Each grade from fourth through sixth plays with their own grade in our tackle football. We play with weight limits and are continually updating our equipment we offer. Registration is open at zyfl.net.”
Angela Jones, also with ZYFL, says the cheerleading program has also grown.
“The 2021 season saw 93 cheerleaders register,” Jones says. “Since then we have doubled in size. We had 186 cheerleaders register in 2023. We are on track this season to exceed 2023 registration numbers. We are thrilled with the growth we’ve experienced. It’s our mission to build community spirit in Zionsville while providing an opportunity for all who desire the opportunity to have a chance to experience cheerleading. Cheerleading is a great sport to help improve athlete flexibility, confidence, memorization, coordination, and even spelling!”
New components were also added to the cheerleading program.
“The growth we’ve experienced has allowed us to adjust what we’re offering,” Jones says. “For example, we began offering a post-season competition experience in 2022. We began by taking three teams to the Indy Crossroads cheerleading competition. We expanded further this year and added a second competition, the NCA Indianapolis Classic. We’re proud of the hardware we’ve been able to bring home.”
Jones is excited to see the program continue to grow, and is optimistic about the increased number of registrations expected for the next year.
“We learned a lot last season and are implementing even more updates to manage our growth and ensure continued success.,” Jones says. “For example, we previously practiced all together. We’re too big for that now. This gives us an opportunity to better accommodate multi-sport athletes and volunteer coaches’ schedules. Like other local youth leagues, coaches will now determine their practice schedule. We also plan to assign cheer squads to specific tackle football teams. In previous years, squads rotated between teams. Pairing squads and teams will increase the opportunity for athletes to interact and form close relationships. It will also give the cheerleaders more of an opportunity to get invested in the outcome of the games.”
Jones adds that everyone involved is excited about the future.
“There are many things that’ll be the same this year – the opportunity for everyone to improve their teamwork, athletics and spirit skills,” she says. “We will not cap registration or implement tryouts. We will also continue to compete in the post-season.”
Jones would like to encourage more athletes in the community to join their program.
“There is room for everyone passionate about cheering on Zionsville in ZYFL,” Jones says. “We accept boy and girl athletes. Visit zyfl.net to learn more. All our coaches are volunteers. People interested in coaching can apply at zyfl.net.”
