7v7 Football worth a look

I witnessed in person for the first time recently one of the fastest growing youth sports offering — 7v7 Football.

The UNI-Dome hosted one of the early season tournaments, Back to Ballin’ 2023, where teams from Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Canada and, of course, Iowa, battled it out in pool play on a Saturday and advanced to bracket play on Sunday.

The Dome will host another tournament on May 6-7. You’ve got to see it.

The purpose of 7v7 football is to hone the skill positions in American football — the quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, etc. The game is two-handed touch football, no tackling allowed. It is football, however, so there are situations where rough play occurs. Pads are not worn, but helmets are required.

This is a speed game. The quarterback has just four seconds to release the ball. Touchdowns score seven points. There isn’t any kicking of extra points, field goals or punting.

Three points are awarded the team intercepting the ball. The field is just 40 yards long, so two games were played at once in the UNI-Dome.

It’s fun to watch and fun to play. Uniforms can be wild. Team names are original. Games are only about 25 minutes long, depending upon the tournament.

Trevor Bollers, founder of Iowa 7v7, ran an organized tournament. He utilized the big screen in the Dome, showing participating team videos, game scores and bracket updates. A concession stand was open serving typical Dome fare, along with coffee for those attending the first games of the day at 8 a.m.

My 15-year-old grandson’s Savages team played in its first 7v7 game. His team had a tough first day. Coached by former University of Northern Iowa football players Tom Petrie and Richard Carter and a couple other volunteers, the Savages had been able to practice just three times.

The team is made up of players from Cedar Falls, Iowa Falls and a few other nearby communities so the kids can’t always be together for practice. And it has been difficult to find practice facilities in the evenings.

Still, the Savages were able to advance to the semifinals. They improved with each successive game, getting used to the speed and rules of the game.

I can’t wait for the next tournament. Cedar Falls Tourism and UNI should be proud of partnering with Iowa 7v7 in bringing the experience to the UNI-Dome.

Nancy Justis is a former competitive swimmer and college sports information director. She is a partner with Outlier Creative Communications. Let her know what you think at njustis@cfu.net