The Program

Greendale is Loaded With Football Programs

Football in Greendale is big!  Not only at the high school level, but at the youth level too. Greendale is fortunate in that it has a strong and very well established youth football program that gives 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders a chance to play and learn the game at an early age. The benefit of having a program like this is obvious. By the time players reach the varsity level, it's conceivable that a player could have as many as 7 years of football experience under their belt going into their senior year. As like with anything in life, the experience that one gains by playing football this long plays a major roll in the success of one's football career. This is one of the main reasons why the Greendale High School football program is so successful.

Of course running a program like this is no easy task. It requires a lot of hard and dedication by not only the volunteer coaches, but by the administrators as well. What's neat about a program like this is that a lot of the coaches are former players of both the youth and the high school football programs. This says a lot about playing here in Greendale. These coaches obviously realize that playing football has a deeper meaning then just being thought of as a game because otherwise, why would they come back. That’s what playing football is all about.

The youth Panthers started their program back in 1977 and were members of what was then called, The Vince Lombardi League. In 1980, that league was reorganized and re-named to, The All-American Youth Football League. At that time, there was only one team, which consisted of just 7th and 8th graders. A few years later, they expanded to a "B" team, which then consisted mostly of 6th and 7th graders. Today, they are now running 4 teams. An "A", "B", "C" and a "D" team. This adds up to approximately 147 boys playing football at the youth level here in Greendale. The only difference between the youth teams and the high school teams is the obvious size of the players and the speed of the game. Well, there is one other difference too. The youth team dons the colors of orange and black instead of the Kelly Green and White. It's a long story but for the most part, it started way back when Greenfield picked green and white at the onset of the league, so the Panthers just decided to go with the orange instead. They actually had the opportunity later on to switch their colors to match the high school but by then, a tradition was set, so it was decided that they would just keep the color orange.

The youth Panthers have a long tradition of winning, including seven league championships. Upon joining the league in 1977, Greendale won league championships in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994 and 1995. Besides the championships, they also hold nine South Conference titles including 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994 and 1995. They have also taken the Southeast Division Championship six times in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2001.

The Panthers have even ventured to out of state tournaments where they've captured three Chicago area titles and took second place back in 1984 at the National Youth Super Bowl, which was held in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The AAYFL started with just 8 teams back in 1980 but have since expanded to 42 community-based teams that range from West Bend all the way to Burlington in the southeastern part of Wisconsin. For more history and information about the AAYFL click here.