Well, the Rankings have arrived for 2014! We have well over 140 homeschool football organizations across the United States. Of the over 70 eleven-man teams, 50 of them are currently registered and published on Maxpreps Rankings service.
    The preseason rankings are devised by the Freeman Scoring services. They are computer-driven and based upon objective criteria. The team's previous year's performance only accounts for a portion of the final rating. Each coach was asked to provide a few other factors, such as returning starters and other details. Any team who has not provided this info may have an inaccurate initial rating. New teams have a very limited capacity to enhance their preseason ranking. If your team has not submitted the preview survey to Freeman's Scoring service, that deadline has passed.
     The top 5 teams on the chart represent all four regions.   The West Region scores very high in this chart, holding the top 2 and 4 of the top 10 positions.  The East Region is next with 3 of the top 10.  The South holds 2, and the North has one solid team in 5th place.

    There are many new conferences and realignments in 2014. Several Carolina teams have developed the Carolina Athletic Conference with 2 conference divisions reflecting the north and south portions of the Carolinas.
    The Great Lakes area has developed the Midwest Homeschool Football Association with a postseason regional tournament.
    Texas continues it's radical growth. Where there was only 1 eleven-man team just 2 years ago, there are now  8 homeschool groups organizing.  Several six-man teams are transitioning to eleven-man. Where homeschool teams flourished in the private schools' TCAL conference, many of them have moved over to the new TAIAO conference which will also included some charter schools.
    There is talk of finally developing an eleven-man South Central Conference.  Some coaches are working to establish a 2-division format with some Texas teams representing the south division while some Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas teams forming a north division. A conference championship would pit the 2 division leaders in a post-season bowl game.

    The sound of coaches' whistles and grunts of linemen now fills the air. Fall practices have begun. For the homeschool athlete, several new options are available in many areas of the nation. More and more states are making legislative and regulatory reforms for the sake of the home-educating family.
  Many state legislators are spending millions of public education dollars in an attempt to win back the confidence of the millions who have turned to home-based education. Still other public institutions are delivering institutional resources to the homeschooling families who have made a strong argument that the money ought to follow the students, regardless of the family's disdain for the government schools' sad legacy.
  Among the increased local, state, & federal resources are:

• City & county park facilities for homeschool sports programs.
• State laws mandating that home-educated athletes may play for the public school team in their district.
• State & Federal funding of curriculum for home educators.

  While these new and expanding resources may be a huge help, especially for rural homeschool families whose athletic options are otherwise impractical or nonexistent; The vast majority of home educators prefer to be a part of a team which reflects not only their community, but more importantly, their family values and faith. The urban & suburban homeschool families are still far better served by becoming a part of the homeschool sports organizations.

   Homeschool Sports Organizations are continuing their legacy of development and "over-achievement". When a handful of volunteer dads and moms can coach a scattered bunch of kids to a level of parity & competitiveness with the large athletic departments of the public schools, they expose an embarrassing reality that institutional bureaucracy and employee indifference can stymy the development of the institutionalized child.
  Too often we hear scurrilous unfounded rumors from public & private school leadership which seeks to discredit the homeschool team. It is clearly devised to cover up for the wounded pride and career insecurity of the team that just got it handed to them from some start-up homeschoolers.
  The homeschool football nation has become strong and established over these past 10 years. In 2004 there were just a handful of homeschool football programs in America. Today we have information on 130 teams which have plans to field a team this year. Masses of additional programs are now opening their roster up to home-educated athletes. Entire state oversight bodies are now amending their charters to add accommodations to the benefit of homeschool football athletes. Countless division 1 & Division 2 NCAA teams have former homeschool athletes on their rosters. It wasn't that long ago that the NCAA treated home-educated athletes as high school drop-outs.
  Texas alone has 31 homeschool football teams. Their signature variant of 6-man football has been dominated by homeschool teams. But whereas 2 years ago there was just 1 eleven-man homeschool team in Texas, this year there will be 8 eleven-man homeschool organizations.
  Missouri added 2 more eleven-man teams. Michigan will probably have around 10 teams, as will Georgia. The Great Lakes states continue steady development. The East Coast and Southeast are very populated with homeschool football. The Delta region has an established homeschool conference. California has a solid 8-man league. There is talk in the South Central region of developing a 2-division conference ( more on that, later.)
Part Two will be published a few days after this address...

We want to talk to the parents....
   Coaching varsity football is a collective effort. Your son's team will only be as good as the parents allow it to be. The athletes will only excel to their full potential if they have a full support team, and you are needed on that team!
The head coach has his hands full and several things he'd like to do will never get done properly if he doesn't have people who "take ownership" of tasks and get them done correctly, thoroughly, and on time.

  Several of those tasks are clerical in nature.  
1. A treasurer who collects athletic fees and pays bills.
2. A public relations director who stays current with media outlets and community groups.
3. A statistician who records game stats and compiles seasonal numbers for the athletes' future potential in college sports.

  Tell your coach or athletic director that you're committed to meeting one of the team's clerical needs, and ask another family to partner with you, so that either of you can get the job done if the other is unavailable on a given week.