Texas is obsessed with football, and it all starts at a very young age. 

Everything Is truly bigger in Texas, including youth football.  

Permian Basin Youth Football League in The Longhorn State is treating 12-year-olds like college recruits and making them sign letters of intent.

Via WSJ: 

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Complete Signatures” is the headline for a Wall Street Journal feature by Kevin Armstrong on a new concept in one youth football league in Odessa, Texas. 

The Permian Basin Youth Football League mandates that each player, from ages 4 to 12, must sign a letter of intent to show their commitment to a youth team in the league. It even includes public “signing ceremonies” just as has become popular with high school athletes signing to play in college.

And if there’s one singular line that points to the absurdity of it all, it’s this from league president Matt Lawdermilk: “The 4-year-olds play flag,” Matt said. “They can’t sign their name so they just scribble.” Lawdermilk told WSJ he started the letters in 2014, two years after founding the league, to deter coaches from recruiting players already on a team.

As Armstrong writes, “as with so many issues in youth sports, the adults were getting out of hand.  

This is just one of the many problems in youth sports. 

I understand they want to mirror the collegiate experience, but this is just absolutely screwed up. 

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