High School Football | Chicago Bears Official Website

The Bears are proud to partner with Athletico Physical Therapy to present the Chicago Bears Community High School All-Star Award that recognizes high school football players who make a positive impact in their community and school. These student-athletes exemplify service, leadership and character. The Bears Community High School All-Stars take the lessons learned through playing the sport of football and use them to benefit their community.

Week 1 l Abbie Lewis - Stevenson High School

Week 2 l Nicholas Armour - Leo Catholic High School

Week 3 l Margaret Yoest - Lane Tech College Prep High School

Week 4 l Adilene Diaz - Instituto Health Science Career Academy High School

Week 5 l Sajjad Hussain - Wauconda High School

Week 6 l Carson Strating - Morrison High School

Week 7 l David Lyle - St. Rita of Cascia High School

Week 8 l Grant Cochonour - Casey-Westfield High School

Week 9 l Clayton Shomaker - Carlyle High School

The Chicago Bears hosted the 3rd annual Nike 11-On at Fenton High School on June 29 and 30. Sixteen high schools participated in scrimmages and skills competitions over two days.  Those schools were:

• Addison Trail
• Carmel Catholic
• Christ the King
• Dundee-Crown
• Evanston
• Fenton
• Joliet West
• Lane Tech
• North Chicago
• Rochester
• Rockford Auburn
• South Elgin
• Streamwood
• Thornton Fractional North
• Westinghouse
• Willowbrook

As the winning team, Rochester received a $2,000 donation to their football program.  Carmel Catholic and Fenton received a $1,500 donation for coming in second and third place, respectively.  South Elgin received a $1,000 donation for fourth place, Dundee-Crown and Evanston received a $750 donation for coming in fifth and sixth place respectively, and Joliet West and Rockford Auburn received a $500 donation for coming in seventh and eighth place respectively.

The Chicago Bears and Bears Care announced that Rockford Park District schools were the recipients of the 2023 Athletic Training Grant and will receive grants from Bears Care. The grant will support the health and safety of students to benefit girls flag football at all four public Rockford High schools and NFL Flag Programming.

Below are the past winners:

2022: Round Lake High School, Englewood Stem HS, Peoria Manual High School

2021: Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, Fenton High School, Back of Yards High School, Thorton Township High School

The Bears annually host the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Scholar-Athlete Awards at Halas Hall.

In 2024, three high school seniors received college scholarships and trophies for their excellence on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. The scholarships are provided through a partnership between Bears Care and the National Football Foundation.

Additionally, the Chicago Bears Community Champion Award was presented to two high school football players in recognition of their tremendous civic involvement, and the Chicago Bears' Girls Flag Football Changemaker Scholarship was awarded to three high school girls flag football players.

The NFL Foundation Grassroots Program is a partnership of the National Football League Foundation (NFL Foundation) 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. Since 1998, the Fields Program has awarded $61.8 million in grants for 431 projects in over 40 cities across the country. The 2023 Grassroots funding cycle will begin September 15, 2023 and the deadline for submissions will be December 15, 2023. Details on how to apply are available here.

Below are the past winners from the Chicago area:

• 1998: Jackson Park Field (Chicago)
• 2000: North Park University Football Field (Chicago)
• 2000: New City YMCA Football Field (Chicago)
• 2004: Jesse Owens Park (Chicago)
• 2006: Lane Stadium (Chicago)
• 2007: Lazier Field (Evanston)
• 2008: Orr Academy High School (Chicago)
• 2009: Gately Stadium (Chicago)
• 2010: LaFollette Park (Chicago)
• 2011: Altgeld Park (Chicago)
• 2012: Kelly Park (Chicago)
• 2013: Pullman Park Recreational Center (Chicago)
• 2014: Manual Academy (Peoria)
• 2017: Douglas Park (Chicago)
• 2018: Ogden Park (Chicago)
• 2019: Taylor Park (Chicago)
• 2020: Leo High School (Chicago).

The National Football League Foundation (NFL Foundation) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and safety of sports, youth football and the communities in which we live. The NFL Foundation represents the 32 NFL clubs and supports the health and safety of athletes, youth football and the communities which support our game.

The Chicago Bears and NFL celebrate "Play Football Month" every August. The Bears provide several hundred complimentary tickets to different youth football leagues throughout Illinois. Select youth football players attending the game get to participate in pre-game and halftime festivities, which includes joining Bears players for the National Anthem and scrimmaging at halftime.

Each year, the Chicago Bears host the Special Olympics Illinois Flag Football Tournament at the Walter Payton Center brought to you by United Airlines. United Airlines staff volunteer for the day to help facilitate the camp and Chicago Bears players visit with the athletes. We are proud to partner with Special Olympics and their athletes.

The Chicago Bears partner with USA Football to host a youth coaches clinic at Halas Hall every year. Hundreds of coaches from numerous Illinois youth football organizations attend the clinic. Join more than 100,000 youth football coaches across the country that have taken action by getting certified. Register for this clinic and advance your player health and safety education. In this clinic, you will gain the knowledge focused on health and safety, transformational coaching, quality coaching, abuse prevention, equipment fitting, shoulder tackling, blocking and defeating blocks

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" Division 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 Roberto at (312) 745-1966.

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 Roberto at (312) 745-1966.

NFL FLAG is the National Football League's premier youth football program for kids 6-14 years old. Available nationwide, including 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. Every team receives official NFL team-identified footballs and every participant receives their favorite NFL team-identified reversible jersey and official NFL FLAG belts. For more information, please visit www.NFLflag.com.