Football

Thank you for your interest in joining the Northside Middle School Football Team for the 2026 school year. My name is Austin Fisher, and I am the head coach for the team. You can contact me at my email at fisherab712@gmail.com or abfisher@rcps.us for any questions you may have.

We will hold open fields starting on May 11^th. For the first two weeks while school is still happening, open fields will be held directly after school. When school is out for the summer, open fields will be held on most Mondays from 6:00-7:30 pm. Specific dates will be attached at the bottom. The location for open fields are on the back fields at NMS. Please try to be there on time. It is important to attend these sessions if you are planning on playing. We will go over receiver routes, lineman steps, and condition in preparation for the season. It is not mandatory to attend, but it is highly suggested to attend. If there were to be bad weather on any of these days, we would go in the gym. Open field dates will never be cancelled. This will help all players in preparation for the season. If you will not be able to attend on certain dates, please let me know ahead of time.

All players will have a team fee to play. The team fee price consists of a t-shirt, shorts, and mouthpiece for each player. All other equipment consisting of a helmet, shoulder pads, girdle, practice pants & jersey, knee pads, and belt are also provided by the team. The price for the team fee for the 2026 season is $60. You will not pay for this until the equipment pickup date, which will be held July 30^th at 6:00. Arrive to the back of NMS where open fields are held.

The NHS football team holds weightlifting for all players on Mon, Tues, and Thurs for anyone that would like to attend. On Mondays, please only attend NMS open fields at 6:00. For any information regarding the NHS program, you can find it on their Facebook. For all information regarding our program at NMS, please sign up for the 2026 Football Remind Me text. There is a new Remind Me class each season. I will send out any information you need to know through that. Remind me has an app you can download on your phone. I have attached how to join on a separate page.

 

*Important things to know about the NMS Football Program*

-          Players will not be allowed to play for our program at NMS and participate in NRRC football. Please do not attend open fields if you are only planning on only playing for NRRC. If you are undecided and would like our coach’s input, you are welcome to ask.

 

-        If a player is entering the 6^th grade, they will only play on the B-Team. The B-Team has a full schedule yearly playing other schools B-Teams. If there are several injuries to a specific position on the A team that a 6^th grader plays, they will be asked to dress for the A team game. If a player is in the 7/8^th grade and they are not a starter on the A team at NMS, they will also play on the B team to get more reps. There are times when a player will be on both teams. A roster is sent out each weekend for the next week. It is important to check rosters weekly.

 

-          There will be a master check out list for forgotten items for practices and games posted outside the coach’s office. Each player will be given one replacement item. When that item has already been given to a player for a replacement and they forget that item again, they will not practice for that day. If an item is lost, a player can purchase another item for a small fee depending on the item. This has been a major issue in the past few seasons. This will hopefully teach all players to be accountable and understand what is expected of them. Items include practice jerseys, practice pants, mouth pieces, practice belts, girdles, and knee pads.

Example:

Player Name

Practice Jersey

Practice Pants

Mouth Piece

Practice Belt

Girdle

Knee Pads

 

Practices will begin on August 3^rd. All players are expected to be there. Please take your vacation before the season starts. Missing practice at the beginning of the year will put your player behind tremendously. All players must have three practices in helmets, followed by two in shoulder pads & helmets before going full pads. Throughout the season, there will be no Saturday practices. There will be a monthly calendar sent out every month when the season begins.

 

 Key Dates: Open Field (OF)

May 11^th: DIRECTLY AFTER SCHOOL on back field. Pickup time is at 5:30 pm.

May 18^th: DIRECTLY AFTER SCHOOL on back field. Pickup time is at 5:30 pm.

May 25^th: None – Last week of school

June 1^st : OF 6:00 - 7:30 pm on back field.

June 8t^h: OF 6:00 - 7:30 pm on back field.

June 15^th: OF 6:00 - 7:30 pm on back field.

June 22^nd: OF 6:00 - 7:30 pm on back field.

June 29^th: OF 6:00-7:00 pm on the back field.

July 6^th: None

July 13^th: OF 6:00- 7:30 pm on back field

July 20^th: OF 6:00-7:30 pm on back field

July 27th: OF 6:00-7:30 pm on back field

Everything after this date is mandatory to attend. If you cannot be at something, please let me know ahead of time.

July 30^th: EQUIPMENT PICK UP 6:00 - 7:00 pm. *Mandatory to attend*

-          $60 team fee will be due on this day and any physicals that have not been turned in.

August 3^rd: FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE 3:30-5:45 pm *Mandatory to attend*

August 4^th: SECOND DAY OF PRACTICE 3:30-5:45 pm *Mandatory to attend*

August 5^th: THIRD DAY OF PRACTICE 3:30-5:45 pm *Mandatory to attend*

August 6^th: FOURTH DAY OF PRACTICE 3:30-5:45 pm *Mandatory to attend*

August 7^th: FIFTH DAY OF PRACTICE 3:30-5:45 pm *Mandatory to attend*

 

Practices will begin at 3:30. Please arrive ahead of time to have time to get prepared for practice. Players who are not in their stretching lines at 3:30 will be considered late.

*All players must have a 2026 VHSL athletic physical and it must be completed and signed to be able to participate in open fields. You can find the most recent physical form on the NMS website or the VHSL website. They are also located in the front office. Please make sure it is the most recent form and is completed before turning in. You can turn this form into myself at open field or into the front office at NMS.*