Esquire Network

Friday Night Tykes returns to Texas, where football is life, to follow youth teams from the Texas Youth Football Association. Along the way, cheerleaders cheer, tailgaters barbecue and the crowd goes wild, but intense rivalries flare, parents and coaches clash and the young players face some very adult pressures and concerns, from extreme training drills to heckling from rabid fans. For many of those in the series, football is the centerpiece of their community and, in some cases, even a substitute family. Throughout, coaches and parents discuss the valuable lessons they believe football teaches children. But in a youth league where winning means everything, the adults also grapple with questions like: How much competition is too much? Is the sport safe for young children? And at what price are we pushing our kids to win?

Western Pennsylvania, home of football legends. 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.