Area parks hosting tourneys
This weekend, Plant City will host the Youth National Championship football tournament at Ellis-Methvin Park. From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, teams from the YNC’s Southeastern Conference will duke it out for preseason glory in divisions ranging from 6U to 14U.
The YNC tourney styles its top prize as an “undisputed” national championship, though numerous other leagues host national championship tournaments. For more information, visit youthnationalchampionship.com.
Next weekend, Ellis-Methvin Park and the Otis M. Andrews Sports Complex will host the 2019 Florida Elite Football & Cheerleading Kickoff Classic.
Twenty of the league’s 22 teams will compete Aug. 10 and 11 with start times of 9 a.m. (6U), 10:30 a.m. (8U), 12 p.m. (10U), 1:30 p.m. (12U) and 3:30 p.m. (14U). The cost to attend is $10 per person for adults and $5 per child. Florida Elite Football and Cheer consists of teams from the greater Tampa and Orlando areas, as well as Ocala.
Both Global Sports Alliance Baseball’s Summer Sizzler tournament and the Plant City Dolphins’ summer jamboree were rained out last week and neither organization is planning to reschedule the event. The GSA’s next tournament in Plant City will be the Summer Slam (Aug. 17-18) and the Dolphins will begin regular-season action at home Aug. 10 against the Seffner Seahawks.
Tri-County football, cheer season begins next week
Tomorrow’s stars of the gridiron and the cheerleading mat don’t have long to wait before the Tri-County Youth Football and Cheerleading Conference regular season starts back up.
All teams will begin their 2019 campaigns on Aug. 10 and, weather permitting, will play every Saturday with the exception of Aug. 30. Kickoff times for 2019 are 9 a.m. (Mighty Mites), 10:30 a.m. (Pee-Wees) 12 p.m. (Midgets), 2 p.m. (Junior Varsity) and 4 p.m. (Varsity). Though none of the Plant City-area teams are scheduled to host games during the first and second round of playoffs, the Plant City Dolphins are set to host the Superbowl championship games on Nov. 16 and the Turkey Creek Trojans will host the Cheer-Off championships on Oct. 26.
Visit webmaster672.wixsite.com/tcyfcc for more information.
Sign up for TOPSoccer
The Outreach Program for Soccer (TOPSoccer) is hosting sign-ups soon and Plant City-area players are welcome to join.
The Brandon-based league, which caters to special needs players age 5 and up, will begin registering players Aug. 9 at the West Florida Flames Soccer League fields, 3104 S. Kings Ave., Brandon. Athletes can sign up from 6 to 7:30 p.m. during two Friday/Saturday periods: Aug. 9 and 10, then Aug. 16 and 17. Both Friday registration sessions run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and the Saturday sessions run from 9 to 11 a.m.
All players are required to have a copy of their IEP at registration. High schoolers and adults interested in volunteering are asked to attend one of the registrations.
TOPSoccer uses a “relaxed format” with no practices, scorekeeping or team standings and rankings. The program is free for families thanks to sponsors’ support. The season begins Sept. 7 and ends Nov. 16.
For more information, call Ken Muzyk at (813) 657-5271 or email Fred Englehardt at brandontops@aol.com. TOPSoccer also has a Facebook page, facebook.com/BrandonTOPSoccer, that is updated regularly.