In the spring of 2010, several dads from south Tyler met to discuss where to start their boys in youth football. With registrations already beginning for the next season, and after a quick look around at the options, they decided to coach a team under the Bullard name.
This was Bullard's first year to have youth football and our team was composed of about half kids from Tyler and the other half from Bullard.
We had a good year, making the playoffs and developing a great bond with the players. Bullard has a first class organization and the parents and other coaches were great to work with, but by the close of the season, it was clear that there was an opportunity for a new team in south Tyler.
In early 2011, the Tyler Red Raiders Youth Football Association was formed and we joined the local Pop Warner league. We had 105 kids sign up the first year, about 85 of which had never played tackle football. We fielded a team at each division and had a successful season.
In 2012, we moved to the Tri-County Youth Football Association. It was the
same league we had played in at Bullard, and it was an opportunity for the
Red Raiders to play different teams every week and be part of a well-organized association. We were up to 115 kids and in our second full year, the combined record of our organization was 25-12, with our junior and freshmen team going a combined 17-4.
In 2013, all five of our teams made the playoffs with a combined record of 31-18-1 and every year since then we have had at least one team in the playoffs. In 2020 we won a Southern Conference title and in 2021 3 of our 4 teams won Southern Conference titles with our Freshman and Junior teams winning the league Super Bowl, besting over 20 other East Texas Youth Football teams.
As we move forward, our goals remain the same. We want to introduce the great game of football to as many young men as possible and make a lasting positive impression in the process. We want kids to love the game of football.
From the parents perspective, we try to be the most organized team in the area. We realize your time is valuable and, therefore our practices are on time and efficient. We also update our web-site and Facebook page regularly to help with planning. As you consider where to place you son, we hope you will consider the Red Raiders.
