There’s a crew of young children and teenagers who are also starting their season.
The Plant City Dolphins have five football teams and five cheer teams that will take the field every week.
President Van Paulk is in his fourth season leading the league.
“The main thing is the development of the players representing the community that we live in, representing our organization, also representing our league,” he said.
The season kicked off on August 2 with practices being hosted Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Saturday game times vary by age. Five and six-year-olds kick off at 9:00 a.m. for the first game, and the final game for 13 and 14-year-old players kicks off at 4:00 p.m. for a whole day of youth football.
Meanwhile, the five cheer groups are rooting for the football teams.
Paulk said the season prepares both cheerleaders and football players for high school competition.
The tri-county matchups include the Brandon Broncos, Dover Patriots, and Turkey Creek Trojans.
While these Saturday matchups, playoff runs, and sometimes even a Super Bowl title build confidence and skills, Paulk said the main goal is just for the kids to have fun.
“We’ve got some of the best coaches in football and cheering,” he said. “You just start to see the kids having fun.”
Paulk’s father used to be president of the youth league he played for.
“Someone did it for me, I do it for them, and then hopefully, the kids do it for their kids and just keep [passing that down] generation after generation,” he said
