BY STEPHANIE WOOD
Special to The Tidewater News

COURTLAND
After a successful inaugural season, the Cover 3 Youth Football and Cheer League is ready for the 2015 season. Registration for all players will open on April 11, at the sixth annual free Cover 3 Football & Cheer Camp.

For the sixth time, the Cover 3 Foundation is providing a free football and cheer camp for all football players and cheerleaders, ages 6-14.

Sponsored by the NFL Foundation, the camp is open to the public and directed by Southampton County native, C3F founder and retired NFL defensive lineman Greg Scott, and his staff of league representatives and coaches. In addition, members from the Hampton University football team and coaching staff will be assisting with the football participants. Cheer participants will be coached by Malani Mitchell, Hampton University cheer squad and Cover 3 youth cheer coaches. The football camp is free and is open to the first 200 participants. The camp will be on April 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at a location to be announced. Football drills and games will be non-contact and no tackling will be permitted. The camp will feature drills, fundamentals, motivational tools, inspirational messages, flag football competitions and games, along with a free lunch and t-shirt for all participants. To register for the free camp, visit http://www.cover3foundation.org/cover-3-football—cheer-camp-registration.html.

During camp, Cover 3 Youth Football League staff and volunteers will be on hand to register any interested participants for the 2015 season. Registration for flag football is $30, tackle is $40 and cheer is $20. Tackle will have three divisions, Midget for ages 8-10, Junior for ages 10-12, and Teen for ages 12-14. Football divisions are also separated by weight and all football participants are required to weigh in at registration. Flag football is open to ages 6-8 and cheering is open for ages 6-12. Please visit http://www.cover3foundation.org/cover-3-youth-football-league.html to get more information on weight limit guidelines. A copy of all participants’ birth certificate and report card must be presented at registration.

The groups committed for the 2015 season are Courtland Tide, Holland Razorbacks, Franklin Stallions, Newsoms Bears and Sussex Green Machine. Cheer, flag, midget, junior and teen divisions will be available in all groups.

The League voted on representatives and board members in their November meeting. League representatives will manage teams and coaches in their groups. Courtland Tide will be represented by Dwayne Joyner. Franklin Stallions will be represented by Ray Tucker. Newsoms Bears will be represented by Charles Cooper, Holland Razorbacks will be represented by Marcus Evans and Sussex Green Machine will be represented by Jason Flowers.

The chairman and commissioner of the League is Greg Scott; vice chair is Xavier Scott; director of football operations is Tim Woodley, director of player safety is Ray Tucker; communications coordinator is Terry Joyner; and fundraising coordinator is Russell Warren. The secretary is Jody Grant and treasurer is Steph Wood. The board has yet to fill the director of cheer operations position for the 2015 season. Interested parties should call 562-2252.

Here are some dates to remember:

• March 13 — league representatives’ registration and background check deadline

• April 11 — C3F Free Football & Cheer Camp, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. (location TBA)

• April 11 — league registration at C3F at C3F Free Football and Cheer Camp

• April 25 — league registration at C3F Headquarters, 125 S. College Drive, 9 a.m. to noon

• May 9 — league registration in Courtland (location TBA) 9 a.m. to noon

• May 15 — new member registration fees due

• May 23 — league registration in Holland (location TBA) 9 a.m. to noon

• June 1 — assistant coaches’ registration and background check deadline

• June 6 — league registration in Newsoms (location TBA) 9 a.m. to noon

• June 20 — league registration at C3F Headquarters, 125 S. College Drive, 9 a.m. to noon

• June 30 — registration deadline for all players and teams

• July 15 — USA Football Heads-up certification due for all league reps and coaches

• Aug. 8 — practice begins

• Sept. 12 — games begin

The Cover 3 Youth Football League was developed in 2010 when the Foundation fielded teams in Fredericksburg. For two seasons, the Cover 3 Tide traveled to the AYF National Championship in Orlando, Florida. In 2012, the Tide took home the National Championship. In 2013, the Franklin Little League Board of Directors approached the Cover 3 Foundation about taking over the league. Founder Greg Scott grew up playing in the Franklin/Southampton Little League Football program and jumped at the chance to build an improved league. In its first year, the league registered 347 football players, 107 cheerleaders, and 80 coaches. Under the Cover 3 Foundation the former little league organization expanded into three divisions and introduced flag for the first time to the community. The league crowned champions in Flag, Midget, Junior and Teen divisions. Lastly, 80 coaches received training on Heads-up tackling, three board members including the player safety coach attended a Heads-up Course, and 12 coaches were certified through USA Football Heads-Up Level One Certification.

The NFL Foundation is a huge supporter of the Cover 3 Youth Football and Cheer League, awarding the foundation grant funds to assist in league operations. The National Football League Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and safety of sports, youth football and the communities in which we live. The NFL Foundation represents the 32 NFL clubs and supports the health and safety of athletes, youth football and the communities which support our game.

The mission of Cover 3 Foundation is to inspire and motivate children to achieve their goals and conquer adversity through positive, personal and passionate coaching, mentoring and community service.

Cover 3 Foundation lives to establish long-lasting relationships with the youth in the communities we serve. Founded in the winter of 2009, the Cover 3 Foundation (Formally Cover 3 Football) was birthed out of Greg Scott’s (retired NFL) passion to fill numerous personal voids in today’s youth and a need to provide a dynamic platform that would safely empower young people to make the right choices throughout their life path. The Cover 3 Youth Football League aims to, increase access to and participation in rural recreation football and cheering, to improve the quality of skill development and football I.Q. in players, to advance safety measures and safety education for players and coaches, to promote physical fitness through football and cheering, to endorse respect in one’s self and others through good sportsmanship, to encourage responsibility in one’s self through motivated participation and education, and to sponsor football and cheer education and certification for all volunteer coaches. For more information on Cover 3 Foundation programs please visit www.cover3foundation.org.

The Cover 3 Youth Football & Cheer League is accepting sponsorship and donations for the 2015 season. If you are interested in sponsoring the program or making a donation towards a local team, please visit www.cover3foundation.org for more information. Sponsorship packages are available by emailing a request to info@cover3foundation.org.