Boys to Men: It’s so Hard to Say Goodbye

What working on Friday Night Tykes taught me about masculinity.

Walter Iooss/Esquire Network

This year National Geographic magazine dedicated an entire issue to the “shifting landscape of gender” as our understandings of biological and social concepts evolve. One particular article that resonated with me was “The Many Ways Society Makes a Man” about the rites of passage of boys to men: 

Texas Tykes Are At It Again

It’s January, and that means it’s time for a new season of Friday Night Tykes. The fourth season kicks off Tuesday, January 17 at 9p ET on Esquire Network.  While it’s a show about youth football, it’s really a show about parenting — and it’s sparked debate from the US Senate to living rooms across the country. Once again, we ask the questions: how hard should we be pushing our kids? How far is too far? And is youth sports really about the kids or the adults running it?

Check out the new season of Friday Night Tykes starting this Tuesday night at 9p ET on Esquire Network.

PS After working on this show for 4 years, shouldn’t I have some sort of honorary degree in youth sports storytelling?  Special thanks to the first person who mocks that up for me.

Friday Night Tykes: Steel Country

Esquire Network

Didn’t get enough peewee football as Friday Night Tykes wraps up in Texas on March 22?  Don’t worry, there’s a brand new season in a brand new location.  Check out Friday Night Tykes: Steel Country set in the Western Pennsylvania heartland, immediately following the Texas finale.  Tuesday MARCH 22 at 10|9c

 

Our team was embedded in a community of football legends for five months and followed six teams as they marched toward the championship. Once again, I’ve had the privilege of editing (two series at once!) with a super-talented post team.  I couldn’t ask to be stuck in Newark with better people.

 

“Follow six teams in the Beaver County Youth Football League in what was once the backbone of industrial America, where jobs have vanished, the bridges that connect communities rusted over, but everyone is still drawn together by a great tradition… football.”

Friday Night Tykes: Steel Country

Go Big or Go Home, Kid

Friday Night Tykes Season 2 begins January 20.

Jennifer Whitney for The New York Times

They’re back!  Big hits, unruly parents, grandstanding coaches.  Season two of Friday Night Tykes, as 11 and 12 year olds, the kids are a year older, but the game is the same.  In the wake of two coaches being suspended last year for bad behavior, this season continues to ask the big question in youth sports: should the focus be on winning above all else?

 

 

Tune in to Esquire Network Tuesdays at 9pm ET for this 10-part series.

Are You Ready for Some Pint-Sized Football??

Walter Iooss/Esquire Network

For the last few months, I’ve been working with a very talented group of people to produce a 10-part documentary series for the new Esquire Network “Friday Night Tykes.” 

“With exclusive access to the 8 to 9 year-old Rookies division of the Texas Youth Football Association (TYFA), this 10-part docuseries follows five teams on and off the field during the 2013 season.”

The first two episodes will air back-to-back on Tuesday, January 14, at 9 pm ET.