FRANKLIN—Since 1987, Rob Carter has been responsible for the Franklin-Southampton County Little League Football.

Last week, operations of the league were transferred to the Cover 3 Foundation.

“First and foremost, I was honored that Mr. Carter thought Cover 3 would be a good home for Franklin-Southampton County Little League,” said Greg Scott, Cover 3 founder and CEO. “I’m thrilled about the opportunity.”

For Scott, he is going full circle, from playing for the Southampton County Little League team to now running the league.

“We have had competitive little league teams before,” said Scott. “A team based out of Fredricksburg placed first in the nation. But to come home and be responsible for the upkeep of a youth league I once played in, that’s special.”

After doing his homework on Scott and the foundation, Carter said he met with them in August to feel out their interest.

“Cover 3 is youth-oriented,” he said. “I also think that they have the type of organization to make it a better football league.

“If I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t give it to them.”

With the concerns about safety in youth football, Scott said it was important to have the right equipment. He said that’s one of the reasons they will work with the NFL Foundation, an organization that Cover 3 has worked with before.

“We have to make sure the kids are safe,” said Scott. “That’s first and foremost.”

Children can learn a lot from football, said Scott.

“Football teaches young men several things,” he said. “First — life’s going to knock you down. In football, you learn to just get back up and keep going. I think a lot of football players take that aspect to their personal life.

“It makes you mentally tough.”

Teamwork’s another factor that’s really important.

“It also teaches people about being a part of a team,” Scott said. “It’s not going to be all about you out there — you have to be good at working with others.”

Scott said he was open to expanding the team to surrounding areas, but first he was concerned with getting everything into place.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” he said. “We have to make sure that our core is perfect before we add to it.”

Scott said he thought Carter did an excellent job.

“He’s been a great role model to a lot of young men in the area,” he said. “He’s been successful in teaching them about both the game of football and the game of life.”

Carter said he couldn’t have done this without a lot of help over the years. The City of Franklin, the Parks and Recreation Department, The Tidewater News, the Franklin, Windsor and Southampton County Public Schools, as well as Lakeland High School, have all been very supportive. Individually, Carter said CPAs Benny Burgess and Bill Peak have both volunteered a lot of time taking care of the books and Bobby Dunlow has acted as the volunteer commissioner for 12 years. He wanted to thank all of his coaches and the parents, as well

“I hope that the community will continue to support and participate in this youth program,” Carter said. “I look forward to see where it goes from here. I think they will be a breath of fresh air.”