Chicago Bears Youth Football Camps, the official youth camps of the Chicago Bears, provide age appropriate skill lessons through station-based training for kids between the ages of 6 and 14. These week-long camps feature safe, non-contact football instruction and athletic development, as well as instruction about good nutrition, proper hydration, and rest and recovery. Camps are led by professional educators with high school, college or professional coaching experience.

Bears Heroes, men who earned their living wearing the Chicago Bears uniform, provide supporting instruction at all Camp locations. Bears Heroes are fathers and family men who understand the dynamics of communicating with young people.Chicago Bears Youth Football Camps will take place in numerous locations throughout the greater Chicagoland area during the summer of 2012.  AthletiCo is the exclusive provider of training services for all Chicago Bears Youth Football Camps.  Please call (312) 226-7776 for more information, or visit www.BearsCamps.com.

The Junior Bear tackle football program is a free, tackle football league serving over 700 boys and girls, ages 8-13, at 17 different parks throughout the city. Participants compete in either the 8-10 year old “PeeWee” Divison or the 11-13 year old “Varsity” Division against kids their own weight and age. Junior Bear teams are coached by park district staff as well as volunteers. Click here to view a Junior Bear tackle football video feature.

This program introduces young people to the game of tackle football and prepares them to play on a high school level. The annual Mum Bowl, the championship game for the Junior Bear program, is played at Soldier Field in November, giving the participants a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play little league football in a big league arena!If you are interested in signing your child up for Junior Bear Tackle, please call Pat at (312) 742-4986.

The Bears Inner City Flag Football program is designed for boys and girls, ages 9 to 12, who live in Chicago Housing Authority developments or scattered site housing. The league is administered by the Park District in partnership with the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Housing Authority and sponsored by the Chicago Bears and the National Football League. Teams are coached by community volunteers recruited with assistance from the Chicago Police Department (CAPS). Park staffers assist the volunteer coaches and accompany teams to and from games as well as conduct practices and make space available at the park. The program is free to all participants.

The Bears contribute financially and host the players at a Bears game or training camp. The league consists of 16 teams and 240 participants and concludes with a championship game, which has been played in the Walter Payton Center at the Bears practice facility in Lake Forest. If you are interested in signing your child up for Inner City Flag, please call Pat at (312) 742-4986.

The Bears After School Flag Football program is run through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago. The league consists of two divisions, 9-11 and 12-14 year-olds with a total of over 260 participants.  The league consists of an 8 week regular season and one week of playoffs.  The Chicago Bears contribute financially to help the league with transportation costs, jerseys, equipment, and other fees.

The Bears annually host a 34-team flag football league for high schools in the Chicago area that offer flag football as an intramural sport. There are Chicago Catholic, Chicago Public, Suburban Catholic, and Suburban Public schools that participate.

Teams compete in league play for seven weeks prior to a tournament to determine the seasons champion. The 2011 semi-finals and championship games were played in the Walter Payton Center at the Bears training facility in Lake Forest on Saturday, October 29. Joliet Catholic High School beat Lake Forest High School 24-8 to win the championship. The Joliet Catholic players and coaches were guests at the Bears vs. Lions game on November 13, and were honored during an on-field presentation at halftime.

The 2011 "Coach of the Week" winners were recognized during the Bears vs. Seahawks game on December 18 during a halftime ceremony. Honorees also attended a Bears practice and “chalk-talk” with Coach Smith on Thursday, December 15 at Halas Hall. The Chicago Bears will make a $1,500 contribution to the football program at each winning coach’s school.

2011 Coach of the Week winners:
Week 1   Randy Kuceyeski     Libertyville High School
Week 2   Rick Reinhart           Tuscola High School
Week 3   Rich Thompson        Triopia High School
Week 4   Frank Lenti               Mt. Carmel High School
Week 5   Keith Pogue              Mahomet-Seymour High School
Week 6   Brian Doll                  Elk Grove High School
Week 7   Gary Urwiler             Mooseheart High School  
Week 8   Rich Zinnani             Bishop McNamara High School
Week 9   Cully Welter              Monticello High School

Since the “Coach of the Week” program’s inception in 1996, the Chicago Bears have donated over $198,000 to various high school football programs in Chicagoland and throughout the state of Illinois.  The Chicago Bears “Coach of the Week” program is brought to you by Fox Chicago and FOXJOX.

The Chicago Bears and BP were excited to team up during the 2011 season to honor outstanding high school football players through the "BP Bears High School Player of the Week" program. Each week for nine weeks, a high school football player was selected for his on-field performance, community involvement and good sportsmanship.

The 2011 "BP Bears High School Player of the Week" winners were recognized during an on-field presentation at the Bears vs. Chiefs game on Sunday, December 4 at Soldier Field. Each player also had the opportunity to direct a $1,000 monetary donation to the youth football program of his choice.

Players who were honored in 2011 include:

• Ty Isaac of Joliet Catholic Academy
• Zach Grant of Rochester High School
• DeAndre Wright of Momence High School
• Julian Russell of Gordon Tech High School
• Pat Smith of Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin High School
• Wes Lunt of Rochester High School
• John Rhode of Montini Catholic High School
• Ian Woodworth of Marist High School
• Dennis Hightower of Danville High School

The Chicago Bears hosted the USA Football Coaching School at Halas Hall, the Chicago Bears Training Facility, in Lake Forest on Saturday, June 18, 2011.

Attendees Received:
• Instruction from top high school & youth clinicians
• Training specific to the age of the players:
  U8, U10, U12 or U14
• Classroom and on-field sessions
• Coach’s gift bag
• Official Certificate of Completion

Topics Covered:
• Player Characteristics, Character and Motivation
• Practice Planning
• Game Development
• Proper Techniques and Drills for All Positions

This coaching clinic is designed exclusively for youth football coaches. Coaches learned effective ways to develop and organize their team, teach the proper fundamentals, implement drills and communicate with players, parents and other coaches.

The Gatorade Junior Training Camp is a grass roots, community outreach program designed to teach youth, ages 7-14, football-related skills in a non-contact environment. The program is a complimentary camp that gives kids the chance to participate in a series of games and activities involving passing, receiving, and running.

Gatorade Junior Training Camp is open to boys and girls throughout Chicago Bears Training Camp in Bourbonnais in July/August.

The Bears vs. Browns game on Thursday, September 1 helped celebrate “USA Football Month” at Soldier Field. The Chicago Bears provided several hundred complimentary tickets to different youth football leagues throughout Chicagoland. Youth football players from the Junior Bear Tackle Football league joined Bears players on the sidelines for the National Anthem and scrimmage during halftime.

USA Football Month is one component of the Chicago Bears support of youth football, which was created by USA Football, the National Football League, and the NFL Players Association. "USA Football Month" was started as a grassroots campaign to promote the sport of football at all levels – from youth leagues to the NFL – and includes clinics, skills competitions, scrimmages, picnics and parades for football fans in communities throughout the country.

NFL FLAG is the National Football League's premier youth football program for kids 6-14 years old. Available nationwide, including in all 32 NFL markets, NFL FLAG is a community-based turnkey program that provides all youth the opportunity to play in an organized NFL non-contact football league. Get involved and start an NFL FLAG League today! For more information, click here.

Calling all kids! You can participate in the NFL's premier youth football program…NFL FLAG! Kids 6-14 are encouraged to sign-up and play! Every team will receive official NFL team-identified footballs and every participant will receive their favorite NFL team-identified reversible jersey and official NFL FLAG belts. Registered teams are eligible to compete in the NFL FLAG Regional Tournaments in October. Winning teams from each age bracket from the Regional Tournaments are invited to participate in the National Tournament of Champions at DISNEY'S WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS ® Complex in Orlando, FL. Click here for more information on how to sign up!

This grass roots skills competition for boys and girls ages 8-15 is offered at Chicago schools, through the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, several Chicagoland park districts, and school physical education classes. Children compete against their peers in punting, passing, and place kicking. The top five first-place scorers in each age group from the pool of Sectional Competition champions advance to the Team Championship, which is held at the Bears practice facility in November.

Please visit NFLYouthFootball.com for more information.

The Chicago Park District operates three youth football programs that are supported by the Chicago Bears through donations of equipment, player support, and various programs for the youth participants. In addition, Bears Care, the charitable beneficiary of the Chicago Bears, makes an annual donation to provide financial support of these youth football programs.

These leagues operate at sixteen different Park District facilities throughout the Chicago. Each year these leagues provide thousands of Chicago youth with the opportunity to participate - free of charge - in fun, safe, structured football environments.

The NFL Youth Football Fund Grassroots Program is a partnership of the National Football League Youth Football Fund (NFL YFF) and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to provide non-profit, neighborhood-based organizations, middle schools and high schools with financing and technical assistance to improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of local football fields.

Parks and playing fields can serve as tremendous community assets because they offer opportunities for recreation, education, and relaxation that contribute to the local quality of life, especially for young people. In five years of programming, the Fields Program has awarded $12.5 million in grants for 116 projects with total development costs of $53 million in over 40 cities across the country. Grants are announced and awarded annually in the fall.

The Chicago Bears and Good Sportswould like to help youth football programs who need help providing football equipment to their kids. It is our goal to serve and increase youth football participation in the Chicagoland area.

Good Sports is a non-profit whose mission is to increase youth participation in sports, recreation and fitness activities. Good Sports provides sports equipment, apparel, and footwear to youth organizations offering sports, fitness and recreational programs to youth in need.

Please read the Good Sports Application for more information on the selection criteria and process.