Thank you for showing interest in our Upward Program. The sports that we offer are Flag Football and Cheerleading. Our next season will begin on August 30, 2021. Registration will begin on June 1. We will not be doing evals this season. For more updates, be sure to follow us on social media. 

Key Dates

• May 1 - Registration Opens
• August 18 - Coaches training
• August 27 - Upward Kickoff 5pm
• August 29-September 2 - First Practices 6pm
• September 10 - First Game
• October 22 - Last Game

Registration opens in 2022!

ABOUT UPWARD

Upward gives kids a positive, Christ-centered environment to learn about sports and competition, along with biblical truth. First Baptist Rogers is excited to offer kids from kindergarten through fifth grade the opportunity to play Flag Football and Cheer in the fall. Registration is $85.00 per child. To learn more about the ministry and history of Upward, please visit upward.org

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Frequently Asked Questions

PRACTICES

PRACTICE TIMES

• Practices are one hour on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday from 6:00pm-
  7:00pm.
• During the registration process, you will have the opportunity to exclude one of the above nights as an available option for your child and list a friend that is in the same grade to be on their team.
  We will do our best to accommodate both requests.
• Your team will be given a specific night and field location at the coach’s
  training. The practice night and field location will remain the same
  throughout the season.
• We DO NOT make up missed practices unless otherwise stated by the
  League Director.

PRACTICE FIELDS

• Our Upward fields are located on our church
  campus across from the fire station on
  Bellview Road.
• Each team will have half of a field to
  practice on.
• Fields are labeled A and B. The half of the field
  closest to the Greenway is A and the half
  closest to Bellview is B.

UPWARD INTERNS:

• We have student Upward interns that help our Kids Ministry Team run
  practices. These interns can assist you in your equipment needs, they can
  sub in as a coach, and answer most questions. These
  interns are part of our paid staff. If you have any concerns regarding our
  interns, please email us at  

GAME DAY

• Games are held on Saturday mornings. You will
  find game schedules on the side of the
  concession stand as well as on your team website.
• We cannot guarantee that your child will have a specific game time. Game times will vary based on grade, and my alternate every week.
• All teams should arrive 15 minutes before their game to warm up.
• The Upward Staff will be walking around on game day in yellow vests to
  help you with any questions or concerns

RUN-THROUGH

• We will begin each game by running through our Upward inflatable
  tunnel.
• Gather your team behind the run-through and wait for your team name to
  be called. We will call all teams in grade order from youngest to oldest.
• When your team's name is called, you will run out of the tunnel with your
  team and head to your field.

REFEREES

• We recruit student referees each year to help us on game days.
• Referees go through a one-hour training prior to the season and will begin
  each game with a 15-minute recap of the rules and game structure.
• Referees run our games for us. They will be trained to keep the game
  moving and to spot basic penalties.
• Referees will start every game with a huddle and prayer. Please introduce
  yourself to the refs on your field prior to the huddle.
• Our refs will not start off the season calling every penalty just so kids can
  have a chance to learn the fundamentals of the game. As the season
  progresses, you will find that the rules will become more strictly enforced
  as kids begin to understand them.
• Please show our refs grace. It is difficult to catch all penalties, and
  refereeing becomes more difficult when placed under the pressure of
  coach's and parent's expectations.
• Remember, people are always watching. The way you respond to refs will
  be reflected in the way the players respond to refs. We want
  to demonstrate good sportsmanship on and off the field for the duration of the season.
• If you see a consistently missed call amongst all refs and/or you would
  like to help us ref this season, please email us at  

UNIFORMS

• Players will wear the uniform given to them by Upward.
  o Uniforms are reversible!
  o Home team will wear the dark color
  o Away team will wear the light color
  o Cleats are recommended in our league, but not required.
• Coaches should wear their coaching shirts on game days.