Football league finds new home in Florida

Florida — On Jan. 11, the Orange County Youth Football and Cheerleading League approved the Florida Youth Football League as a new member at its monthly meeting. It was a long time in coming, as Florida has never had a football team, be it at the youth or high school level. In past years, children who wanted to play football or cheer for football had to do it in neighboring Goshen, Warwick, or Chester. Now the youth have a team of their own, and can play for their own town. “It is all about providing an opportunity for the children,” stated Florida league president Paul Gill, when asked why he wanted to start the league. League rules require that only children in the Florida School district can be on the Florida teams, but that shouldn’t pose a problem. A preliminary survey indicated that moer than 65 kids in four possible age groups want to play football, and there are more than 70 potential cheerleaders. Andrea Cushing, a cornerstone in getting the Florida league off the ground, indicated that there may be even more interest, now that Florida Youth Football League is a reality. Registration for football and cheerleading will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, and 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Golden Hill Elementary School at 478 Round Hill Road.