The Plant City Colts took to the field last weekend for some preseason football at the Mid Florida Football and Cheer Conference Jamboree.
The Jamboree included 12 different organizations, all composed of five different teams ranging from the four and five year old flag division to the 14-and-under varsity division.
“The Jamboree was great,” varsity assistant coach Bryant Stallworth said. “We got to get a lot of footage of different teams, different looks at a lot of people. We record all of that and it’s a great tool for us. We try to implement technology with our coaching because we know the kids of this generation, the millenials.”
For Plant City, having their youth football teams back on the field is a welcome sight after several teams within the conference, including the Colts, didn’t participate in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year it’s a full schedule and mainly that’s what we’re trying to do right now, get those boys in gear,” Stallworth said. “Not just varsity, all levels on down. The task was COVID, everybody got out of shape with COVID so it’s really getting the kids back into the motion of just being active. We consider that a success in itself.”
While some players were out of football completely last season, others played with separate organizations to stay in the game. With that being the reality of 2020, there was some fear of a potentially decreased turnout when the Colts got back together for 2021. But as the season came closer, Stallworth commented on the dedicated community that the Colts have built.
“I was thoroughly impressed with the lasting impact that the Colt Nation has, just around here in Plant City,” Stallworth said. “Before the start of the season we sent out a lot of newsletters asking for these kids to come back out and it’s been a great showing… all the way on down, the community has really rallied behind the Colts this season.”
But after a year away from the game, it isn’t just the players that are excited to get back on the football field. Coaches are ready to return too, with pent-up excitement and a year’s worth of working to get better.
“You get to do what you love,” Stallworth said. “And we’ve grown as coaches. In all that downtime we had a lot of time to communicate with each other, look at different things, see what sets work, what sets don’t work and also how to positively reengage these kids. We’ve got to look at alternative routes so that’s why we’re implementing a lot of things that work with technology and being virtual.”
But more than just keeping kids active and on the field playing a game they love, the Colts’ return is important as youth football affords kids a positive outlet where they can be around their team and positive role models that often leave a lasting impact on them as they grow up.
“It’s very important,” Stallworth said. “Because what it does is build on relationships firstly, it shows them how to perform in a group setting and they work for a goal that’s not self-centered. It’s one goal, one team, one focus. And when you do that, we say this all the time, we’re not just teaching you how to be football players but we’re teaching you to be young men, pillars of the community. It goes without saying that we serve some at-risk youth, we serve underprivileged youth, so it’s bigger than football. It’s a culture and I think that’s what Colt Nation is all about. It’s about the culture, it’s about giving back, it’s about being a part of something bigger than yourself.”
The Colts will start their season on Saturday as they take on the Lakeland Storm at home in Plant City.