East Valley Victories: Football league going whole 9 yards in first season

In its inaugural season, Coast to Coast Football has come a long way. “Kids are loving it, parents are loving it and what we’re doing is what it should be all about,” said Bryan May, president of Coast to Coast.

The flag football league is open to boys and girls ages 5 to 16 and even though games are played at Weinberg Elementary School in the Chandler Unified School District, kids from as far away as Laveen are showing up to compete on Saturdays.

May, who played football in high school and a college season at the University of Akron, served on the board of another local youth league.

“Some other coaches and I didn’t like what went on behind the scenes, so we decided to form our own league,” May explained.

The league boasts 28 teams and fields four age-group divisions: 5-6, 7-8, 9-11 and 12-16. And the squads are coed.

Teams play 5-on-5 games which teach the basic skills of football — running, passing, receiving and defending.

Games involve non-contact rules that eliminate all forms of blocking and tackling.

Teams start at their own 5-yard line and have three downs to move the ball past midfield. Once a team has crossed midfield they receive a new set of three downs to score.

“A lot of the kids on the younger teams are playing sports for the first time, so it’s all about getting experience,” May said. “The older kids play harder but no one team is dominating, so it’s all fair and square.”

And May emphasized “everybody plays and if they don’t, then it becomes an issue.”

Encouraged by this season’s success, registration for spring play is already under way at Saturday games.

Games will move to South Valley Junior High School (Williams Field and Lindsay roads in Gilbert), and the season will run from March 8 to May 17, with two of the playing dates at night under the lights for all the age groups.

The league also has plans to start a tackle program in the near future. But all this is just the beginning. May and his fellow board members — vice president (and wife) Pamela May, Daryl Kelton, football director Aaron Barksdale and business adviser John Arguelles — have big plans.

When asked about future endeavors May said: “I just came up with it (the name Coast to Coast) to go with my long-term vision for the league. We intend to take this nationwide and are developing business models for our next locations that will have Coast to Coast Football: Houston, Columbus and South Florida, where we have business and family ties.”

But for now the focus is on the last two weeks of the current 11-week season which culminates with an “every team is in” tournament scheduled for Nov. 17.

As well as inviting new players to participate, May seeks community involvement and encourages adults to help with coaching and volunteering in other aspects.

For more information, contact May at (480) 560-6641 or visit the league’s Web site at www.coast2coastfootball.com.

ALL WET AND LOVING IT

The high school swimming and diving season wrapped up last weekend with the 5A state championships, so now it’s time to think offseason conditioning and cross training.

Sun Devil Water Polo Club has an answer: a low-key fun event scheduled for Dec. 8-9 at Arizona State’s Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex.

“There will be local and out-of-state teams there,” according to Judy Hacker, mother of club member Paige Hacker.

The younger Hacker is a member of the U.S. national junior cadet water polo team and is preparing for national camps next month in Florida.

For the tournament, swimmers can enter individually or as a team and no experience is necessary.

“The idea is to bring kids together who already play and introduce the sport to kids who haven’t played before,” Judy Hacker said.

The game is similar to soccer, with seven players in the water, including the goalie, for each team.

“If you can swim, you can learn to play,” Hacker said.

Water polo tourney schedule

Saturday: 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. — skills/game instruction;

10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. — games (there will be breaks in between)

Sunday: 9 a.m.-10 a.m. — skills/game instruction; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. — games

Cost: $50/team or $5/person

Information: www.sundevilwaterpolo.org or ryan.castle@asu.edu

Be an umpire: Mesa Unified School District needs umpires for freshman and junior varsity baseball and softball games. Training is paid as are AIA certification dues. There are three required classroom training dates (Nov. 19, Nov. 26, Dec. 3 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) and three required on-field sessions (Nov. 24, Dec. 1, Dec. 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.) Pay rate is $42 per game. Contact smhogen@mpsaz.org or call Steve Hogen at (480) 472-0250 or visit www.mesasports.org for complete details.

Calling all Thunderbirds

Fun times: Mesa Community College will host its annual alumni baseball doubleheader at noon Sunday at the school’s baseball field. The first game will feature a contest between recent alums and the current team.

The second game is an “Old-Timers Game” pitting former Mesa CC baseball stars against each other. A golf tournament is also scheduled as part of the alumni activities at Starfire Golf Club at Scottsdale Country Club on Saturday with registration at 6:45 a.m. with a 7 a.m. start. Cost is $125. Contact coach Tony Cirelli at (480) 461-7562 for more information.

Best bet

Join a club: East Valley Wrestling Club’s Junior High Club Team for children in grades 5-8 will compete from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Dec. 4 through Jan. 26 at Mesa Mountain View High School. Cost is $50 (plus a $30 USA Wrestling Card) and includes singlet, T-shirt and shorts.

The Mountain View Holiday Wrestling Clinic is scheduled for Dec. 27-29 (kindergarten-fourth grade, 11 a.m.-11:45 a.m. and grades 5-8, noon - 1 p.m.). Cost is $40, which includes T-shirt and participation award. Call Bob Callison at (480) 220-3949 for more information.

Eight count

Come for a look: Gene Lewis Boxing Club will host a community “open day” Saturday at the Broadway Recreation Center (59 E. Center in Mesa) starting at 10:30 a.m. There will be sparring, a jump rope competition/exhibition and other activities. For information contact, Joshua Benjamin at (480) 834-1216.

Test your skills

On the court: Participants will have the opportunity to put their basketball skills on display in three events: Hot Shot, 3-point shooting, and a ball-handling obstacle course at the Mike Desper Skills Challenge, scheduled for Nov. 17 at Pathways Learning Center in the Chandler High School North Gym (191 W. Oakland St.).

Registration begins at 7 a.m. with the events beginning at 8 a.m. First- and second-place finishers will compete at halftime of a Chandler High game in January.

The Challenge has been named in honor of Mike Desper, who revitalized girls basketball at Chandler High and died in 2005 at age 45 after a long bout with colon cancer. For more information about the event call (480) 224-3900.