Donning green uniforms and drinking plenty of Gatorade, the kids of the Dartmouth Youth Football League had a strong start to their season last weekend.

The season kicked off with a pizza party on Saturday and a day of games on Sunday.

The kick-off party was a new addition to the season, intended to celebrate a few things going on at the league: The start of the season, all the training the football players and cheerleaders put in during the past month and the nine years of work put in by the former president.

The league is entering its 10th year, and Joseph Vieira has decided to step down as president. He held the position since the league began in 2006. He said he’s been coaching a variety of sports for the past 20 years, and both of his kids are now college age.

“There comes a time to hand the torch off,” said Vieira. “Nobody should be in a position of leadership for nine, ten years. You lose focus. It’s not good for the organization.”

He may be stepping down, but Vieira leaves a legacy of fond memories behind. He said a large part of what’s shaped the Youth Football League has been an emphasis on academia.

“They have to maintain a seventy average to stay on the team,” he said. “If they don’t, they become academically ineligible, and we’ve had some kids in the past who have done that. Instead of throwing them off [the team], they sit on the stairs and we get them help.”

Vieira said that the players are students first, athletes second. He remembers the early summer training coinciding with the summer reading program at Dartmouth’s schools.

“I used to come to the field and ask who read the book,” he said.

He would ask players questions about the plot to test their reading comprehension. If the kids couldn’t come up with an answer, they would run a lap. He said he would only have to give a pop quiz once or twice.

“I had parents tell me that their kids are reading because they’re afraid to run,” said Vieria. “Mission accomplished.”

Vieira has been an active community member in Dartmouth for decades. After graduating from Dartmouth High School in 1980, he signed up to be a firefighter in Padanaram. In 1986, he joined the police department.

“The Town of Dartmouth has been very good to me. It’s my way of giving back for the next generation,” said Vieira. “I think that’s why we do what we do. It’s to pay it forward and show these kids that you can go back and help.”

Vieria replacement is Jeff Sylvia, a history teacher whose son has been part of the league for four years. On Sunday, the league played a home game at Dartmouth Memorial Football Stadium from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in intense heat.

“It was absolutely fantastic,” said Sylvia. “Overall, I couldn’t be happier or more proud of our organization.”

The first day of the season featured all six divisions of the league, and Dartmouth’s teams went up against teams from Old Rochester, Fairhaven and Sakonnet.

“All of our teams played. We won four and lost two. The last game was fantastic. The Unlimited kids – the older kids – came back in the fourth quarter and won the game twenty to sixteen,” said Sylvia late on Sunday.

“You can’t go wrong on a day when you go four and two. I’m on cloud nine right now.”