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Gainesville Grizzlies: More than just a sports club
Listen to a couple of players on the Gainesville Grizzlies 85-pound National Division football team talk about their game, and it becomes clear these kids know their stuff.“[McLean] scouted me, too, on my 27-sweep because the last couple of games, I’ve been just breaking outside, scoring,” said 11-year-old running back Kyle Challberg about one of the reasons his team lost to the Mustangs 14-0 on Sunday. “And they just scouted us a couple of nights.”
That level of sophistication is common throughout the Fairfax County Youth Football League for players 9 to 12 years old.
After all, the Gainesville boys on the field behind Tyler Elementary School this past weekend will likely be the future stars for area high schools Battlefield, Brentsville District and Stonewall Jackson.
There are more than 500 players ages 5 through 13 throughout the Gainesville Grizzlies' 29 football teams who are supported by the 200-plus Grizzlies' cheerleaders.
At this age, they are learning more than just about running plays or perfecting cheers; teamwork is the name of the game.
“It teaches you that you have to have teamwork to be able to win,” said 10-year-old fullback Chancellor Williamson. “So when we were on our three-game streak, we were coming to practice, working out hard… doing our sprints. And our coaches said, 'Sprints count for the fourth quarter.'”
More than 900 parents, players and cheerleaders gathered last month at Battlefield High School for a 5k event called “Our Grizzly Kids Helping Kids” where they raised $28,000 for the Make-A-Wish-Foundation.
By participating in charity events now, head coach Steve Scott said the youngsters will be able to recognize how that is something even their favorite sports players do well into adulthood.
“My kids talk about, 'Hey, I saw a Make-A-Wish Foundation commercial on TV,” said Scott, referring to his own children. “[They then say] 'Now I know what that organization’s about' or 'Is that the same kind of thing Ladamian Tomlinson is talking about when he talks about the United Way?'”
According to cheerleading coach Malissa Christian, her nine-member squad comes up with some of their own cheers, while the experienced kids help the newer kids learn them.
“And, as a matter of fact, they did change one of my cheers,” she said. “I showed them one way, they showed me what they would like, and now we do it their way. And it’s still really good and runs within our guidelines.”
Even the newest members want in on the action whenever possible.
“They don’t want to sit out and see if they can learn the cheers before they get out there. They’re just going. Sometimes you can see it, but it’s okay; they’re trying. And you can see that trying is just a love, a love of cheering. And that’s the whole goal”
For youth players though, the trick is to always make sure they're enjoying themselves.
“After two straight losses, I just want to come back and win the championship because I went to the championship last year, and I’m not going to stop that streak,” said 10-year-old Andrew Young.
Quarterback James Beasley assessed his McLean competition by saying, “They’re rushing a lot. They blitz pretty well, and they had good pass coverage which is tough to get by.”
One of the lessons Williamson has learned in the last few weeks is any team can win on any day when they work hard enough.
“You can’t just say, 'Oh, we’re going to win’ because they could mix up their offense,” he said. “It was a really big shocker to us when [McLean] came out and they started pounding the ball because we were expecting the quarterback to take it outside and... try to run the ball away from us.”
Even still, kids are kids; they're inevitably going to find a way to have a good time.
“This man right here does a pretty good job blocking,” said Challberg, who has three touchdowns on the season, as he stood next to Williamson.
“Blocking? Man, I’ve got more touchdowns than you do,” retorted the fullback with four touchdowns.
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