Canton Youth Sports, Inc

03/02/2026

We will not be offering any youth sports for the 2026 season.

Other Youth Sports Organizations in Canton:
CYRA - BASEBALL & SOFTBALL
CYSA - SOCCER
CYFCA - FOOTBALL & CHEER

Each of these organization profiles can be found on Facebook. If any are not listed please comment so others are aware.

04/22/2025

ANNOUNCEMENT:
Canton Youth Sports unfortunately did not get enough registrations to make any football teams for the 2025-2026 season. As a new organization we had only a short period to get sign-ups so we could be sure to have equipment, as well as, allow registrants to sign up elsewhere and still have a chance to play football or cheer.
We were not going to make the announcement until after the other Canton org closed their registration period so our supporters would not get any retaliatory response. However it looks like the other organization has limits on signups they are not being transparent about.
Canton Youth Sports was accepted to Greater East Teas P*e Wee Football League where the more numbers of players the better. They have several towns that make 2 or more teams and they work the schedule so everyone gets a chance to play and nobody is turned away. We felt and still feel that league is the best place for Canton p*e wee football and cheer participants.
Our mission was to offer an ALL-PLAY program allowing skilled and unskilled to play next to one another on the football field in a very competitive league.
The league may not have a spot for us next season but we will continue to work on building Canton Youth Sports for the future.
Turning ANY Youth away from recreational Sports is unacceptable, unless in our situation, there isnt enough support.
We will continue to build because we said we would and that's what we committed to.
Hope to see more next season. Skilled, unskilled, short, tall, slow, fast....all are welcome and if we have to make 6 teams we'll do it and we'll be the best we can be.
Thank you to all who have shown support and have reached out over the past few months asking questions.
See you next season.

04/22/2025

Full/Waitlist?!?! From the same people who claimed and had their talking heads claim that by CYS opening would affect the kids of the community. And that same group, claiming to be a non-profit, turns kids away from registering. And WE were going to be the problem?
The leadership of CYFCA should be voted out by the parents as your bylaws state.
Jason Landtroop, CYFCA President, As a member of the public, I am requesting the bylaws of CYFCA, a public charity, be made public within reasonable time (24 hrs should be plenty), and be posted on your website. This type of response to ANY parents should never happen with a real non-profit.
The post that was shared with me and that I share with the public is one of the reasons CYS was born. We're not going away and will continue to do the work of a non profit youth sports organization.

04/11/2025

CYS is proud to be participating in Greater East Texas P*e Wee Football League. We've posted some of the football rules that you would want to know on our website and we encourage you to check them out so you understand the structure of the league.

The following is a summary:
-Mandatory Play Rule: Every player must get a minimum of 6 plays per game. There is a misconception out there that this is ALL the playtime the players get. The point of the minimum play rule is to ensure all teams play their roster, not only to give everyone the opportunity to participate in game play but also keeps teams from always playing only their talented players. It's easy for a coach to have the perception of being a good coach when he or she has nothing but talent on the roster. Teaching the newcomers, or the unskilled, alongside the talented or more skilled is the real test of a good coach. CYS does not have a written minimum other than what the requirement is for the league and we encourage and build football players so they can play as much as they can play without being a risk to themselves or their teammates. We've seen it over and over, year after year, if we put a challenge in front of the kids, they will play for each other. Every kid playing rec ball should play in the game and it mean something to the win or loss when the clock hits zero. This is the reason we are offering GETPWFL participation. The less skilled get to play side by side with the better skilled athletes and the TEAM wins or loses together. Every play a kid plays in a game should count to the overall end result of the game. We don't believe in separating talent in practice or games in the name of a "better game-time experience."

-Weight limits for all ball handlers:
1st & 2nd Grade limit 85lb
3rd & 4th Grade limit 105lb
5th & 6th Grade limit 125lb

-Game Structure
1st & 2nd Grade and 3rd & 4th Grade - 10 min quarters with 5 min halftime, no punting or kickoffs/field goals. The ball is placed on the 30 yard line and game play starts from there. If a punt is decided the referee will walk off 30 yards and run 10 seconds off the clock to simulate a play.

1st & 2nd Grade have a protected offensive center. No blitzes in the A Gaps, No nose guard, no QB sneaks in the A Gaps (only handoffs), Defensive tackles line up head up on the offensive tackle not to be covering the A Gap.

3rd & 4th Grade: No kickoffs, receiving, punts or field goals but can have a nose guard, non-protected center, QB sneaks in A Gap, etc.

5th & 6th Grade: 12 minute quarters with a 5 minute halftime. Kickoffs, punts, and field goals are allowed. Full standard football schemes and blitzes.

Two coaches are allowed on the field with 1st & 2nd Grade teams during the game. No other teams can have coaching staff on the play field.

Games start at 8:30am for the younger age groups and run throughout the day advancing in grade level as the day goes on. Most gameday Saturday's end by 5pm.

Some traveling is required to towns like Van, Emory, Lindale, Malakoff, Athens, and Quitman, to name a few. We typically host 2 home games per season and if 2 or more CYS teams make it to the playoffs there is a chance to host playoff games.

GETPWFL participants are all 3A and 4A ISD's as they have always been. I am thankful for GETPWFL allowing us the opportunity to participate in their league again and we feel the competition is beneficial to the kids every season. The cool thing about the competition is every season it changes where the town that dominated last season doesn't have it the same this season.

There are other rules in place and we encourage you to visit our website and read through those rules. We will not know the amended rules until closer to the season opening.

CYS was born from the demand of parents wanting standard football game play and Canton parents (or any town for that matter) should have a choice and not be restricted by what is the only game in town.
Parents, if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us by phone or email. Our phone numbers can be found on our website.

Canton Youth Sports, Inc

04/09/2025

http://leagues.bluesombrero.com/cantonyouthsports

Canton Youth Sports was formed with the mission of offering affordable registrations to allow as many kids as possible to play sports in the Canton area and pledge to utilize our non-profit status to continue to reduce registration fees every year. CYS will be offering recreational p*e wee tackle football and recreational cheerleading in the fall of 2025.
REGISTRATION FEES:
FOOTBALL $175
CHEER $200
What are we offering?
Recreational P*e Wee Tackle Football: Four standard game quarters of football where every athlete on the team is accountable for the win or loss on Saturday. EVERY ATHLETE PLAYS on gameday and competes their way through the regular season. The ultimate goal is making it to the biggest game of the season... Super Bowl 2025!!!
Recreational Cheerleading: Recreational sideline cheer on Saturdays during the game and at halftime. Cheer competition at the end of the season against other participating teams within the league.
CYS is joining Greater East Texas P*e Wee Football League (GETPWFL). Saturday games start at 8:30am for the 1/2 Grade teams, around mid-day for 3/4 Grade, and later afternoon for 5/6 Grade, typically ending the day by 5pm.
GETPWFL is a competitive league consisting of 3A and 4A ISDs. The league has been around for 20+ years and was home for Canton P*e Wee for most of those years until recently.
CYS is managed by a Board of Directors who collectively make decisions based on what is best for the youth of Canton and surrounding communities.
We look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out on Facebook or directly to one of the Board members.

04/09/2025

Registrations open until 4/20/25
1st-6th Grade P*e Wee Tackle Football & Recreational Cheerleading.

http://leagues.bluesombrero.com/cantonyouthsports

04/08/2025

A message from Eric Stowell-Founder and President of CYS:
Hi folks. Some of you may already know me and some are seeing my name for the first time. You may have seen that our original website had some glitches, and could not be repaired, leading to our registration opening, so we had to make a change at the last minute. We have been working hard to make the site presentable in order to provide you the most information we can about our Organization and the great folks that run it. All that said to say we haven't found a way to add our profiles to the new site yet. So I'd like to take some time to tell you a little bit about myself.
I am originally from Kansas and moved to Texas my sophomore year of high school where I attended and graduated Athens High. I've lived in Canton for the last 18 years, married, 3 step daughters who all attended CISD, an adopted grandson, and a granddaughter (both attend CISD). I have an awesome career and work in Tyler but before that I owned my own successful business in the trades for 15 years and it wasn't until age and years of the physical abuse to my body caught up to me that I made the decision to make a career change.
I'm an entrepreneur at heart. Competition drives me. I'm not satisfied until I reach the top. I'm not afraid of failing. I embrace it and learn from it. I'm an overthinker (so I've been told) and i do my best not to make hasty decisions because I force myself to research.
I love sports but not enough to idolize another man or woman because their name is on the back of some jersey and he or she can throw a ball, jump real high, or drive really fast. Respect? Sure, I respect them for the commitment they made to their sport. Who I respect more are the parents that encouraged that person as a kid, sacrificed weekends, parties, work events, and spent countless dollars to get their child the best equipment or training they could afford.
With that said, I am an entrepreneur, I'm competitive, I respect parents who want their kids to do what they love or try new things, I saw a need, I over-thought this for a year, I built a team (and continue building) so that the kids and parents of Canton and surrounding communities have an option of the type of sport to sign up for. I have no skin in the game and won't for the rest of my life but I and the team have committed to the Community to offer at least two sports of P*e Wee Tackle Football and Recreational Cheer.
Could it fail? Sure. Is the demand for our structure and business model the same as it was last year? Time will tell. So far, it seems so.
I've served my community with honesty and integrity and served as a head coach for 5 years in p*e wee football teaching kids the game, laughing, aching (remember what I said about my age and body earlier), crying (who's crying), being loud, and taking the time to listen.
I would love to do it again if you'll have us.
Registrations open until 4/20
Stay tuned for our report on the Rules of Greater East Texas P*e Wee Football League. Or read them on our website.

http://leagues.bluesombrero.com/cantonyouthsports

04/05/2025

http://leagues.bluesombrero.com/cantonyouthsports

04/03/2025

For clarity for anyone questioning the difference between our tackle program and the other program offered in Canton.
Our program at CYS does not have developmental quarter(s) during the game. Meaning we develop during practices and play the game on game day. EVERY participant on the team plays and EVERY participant is accountable for the win or loss no matter their skill level.
Yes, there could be games we get stomped and there will be games we do the stomping. The quality of coach makes the difference where he or she can address any issues from the game and develop a strategy in practice to allow the kids to overcome any challenges they run into.
We believe kids play at a higher level when challenged and the type of kids others would determine as "developmental" rise to the challenge even more when they realize what they do on the field makes a difference. Either good or bad. The more skilled players encourage the less skilled and all hold each other accountable as a team and as teammates.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me personally or on this public forum.
Eric Stowell - Founder & President
[email protected]
903-216-8769 mobile 7am-9pm

04/03/2025

http://leagues.bluesombrero.com/cantonyouthsports