Contact Information: Steve James, 5th & 6th grade (56er) Commissioner, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The 56ers are made up of 5th grade and 6th grade players.  They practice 3 times per week and play their games on Saturday mornings.  This is our youngest level of full contact, tackle football.  

2010 Teams:

• Black Team Page


• Gold Team Page


• Purple Team Page


• Red Team Page

Crusader Mission:
"Guiding young men and women to Biblical Maturity: teaching them to use their gifts to Honor Jesus."

Program Goal:
Our goal is to instill Biblical patterns into the daily lives of these young men and model what it means to be a Godly man. Our 56er program is the beginning and the building block of our mission.  After being elected to the Hall of Fame, running back Emmitt Smith spoke in his press conference about Service and why he believes God put him on this earth.  Jesus came not to be served, but to serve, which is why it is part of our pillars in our traits of a Biblical Man:

C - Commitment
H - Honor
R - Responsibility
I  - Initiative
S - Service
T - Truth

Coaching Staff:
Our 56er staff comprises of two experienced Commissioners. Steve James is the answer man with 5 years of experience.  If you need answers to your questions, he most likely has or can find the answer.  Steve also has various varsity duties as well.  Glenn Morrow is our chapel leader and has been coaching and serving as a commissioner for 8 years.  He is involved in giving instruction both on the field and in our chapel service weekly. 

We have been blessed with stability at our head coach positions starting with Brad Fourman.  He has been serving as coach for the 56er program for 8 years and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Columbus Crusaders.  Craig Brown has been coaching with the Columbus Crusader program for 4 years, watching two sons move on through the program.  Tim Triplett has been with the program before and returned to coach last year to coach his 5th grade son.  He has 4 years with the Columbus Crusaders.  Bruce Richards has been coaching with the Columbus Crusaders for 5 years, coaching two of his sons.

We have a number of assistant coaches coming back to the program with vast knowledge and experience.  They all bring separate skills sets, but a common goal of ministering to these young men.  We enjoy having assistant dads who like to get involved in coaching, and be part of helping other young men.  

Key Goals:
Parents always have questions about the program and if it is a good fit for their young guy.  We have four key goals that we strive to accomplish.

First is the Safety of the players. We work on developing all our routines to assure the best possible care for our players. It starts with proper fitting of the equipment. Helmets are properly fitted by the company from whom we purchase the helmets. Shoulder pads and pants with the correct pads are fitted and every player is given a safe mouth guard.  We have a certified trainer on sight at the barrack when we have our two week start of the season and at all the Saturday morning games.

Second is Spiritual interaction with the players. We have chapel every Monday and small group session every Thursday during practice time. These times are set aside to get to know our player on a more personal level and help with different needs in their lives.

Third is the fundamentals of football.  We encourage players to get involved in most the positions (some will be disqualified because of weight concerns, see rule for more information). We have a Super Saturday during the season that gives every team a chance to change players into different positions, so everyone gets an opportunity to try more positions. Normally, teams scrimmage once a week with a different 56er team. We have an emphasis on proper instruction for all phases of the offense and defense (blocking, tackling, running the ball, passing, catching, etc.). Saturday games are a time to show what the team has learned and where we have grown as a team and individually.

Fourth is very important, especially for our level – to have fun.  We make our practices fun and exciting. Our games on Saturday mornings are a great time. 
 
If you want to see a small glimpse of our program, sign up for our day camp coming in July.  Click on the day camp link to find out more.