It is not uncommon for teams from the Redondo Beach Youth Football & Cheer program to enjoy success, but this season’s Midget Division football team exceeded all expectations.
For the first time in the program’s history, a RBYFC Midget team reached the Wescon championship game held Nov. 28 in San Marcos where the winner advanced to the Pop Warner Super Bowl at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Although Redondo lost to the Tustin Red Cobras 35-6, the 21 players (ages 12-15) on the Sea Hawk squad learned valuable lessons on and off the field.
With only 18 players signed up at the beginning of the season, the Sea Hawks barely got off the ground but the coaching staff comprised of volunteers from the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo recruited enough to field a team.
Led by Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas Coate and his coaching staff of Capt. Francisco Lugo, Capt. Matthew Coate, 1st Lt. Scott Graves and James “JW” Franklin, the inexperienced team got off to a slow start (regular season record of 2-5) but flourished with a strong finish.
Only five players had played tackle football before, five had played flag football and the rest were handling the pigskin for the first time.
“Most other teams we played have been playing as a unit since the average age of seven,” Coate said. “This makes going so far with this amazing group of young men that much more unexpected and special.”
Redondo won three games in the postseason, including two by more than 28 points against opponents that had defeated the Sea Hawks during the regular season
Coaches in the program, which is now in its fourth year, are active duty and retired military, civilians, and contractors from the Air Force Base. An average volunteer contributes about 2,000 hours a season not including rides to and from practice, chaperoning the kids to volunteer at the Midnight Mission in L.A’s Skid Row, tutoring and more..
“This is unique at the Pop Warner level because most teams are coached by parents, and our kids get the high-school style experience with independent coaches without any family ties,” Coate said. “We stress core values of honor, respect and humility. Although we are obviously coaches teaching football our priority is developing young role models and not winning football games; when we can do both that makes for an awesome season.”
