YMCA finalizing 5th annual Saturday Night Lights fundraising event; sponsorships still available

The New Tampa Family YMCA will host its 5th annual “Saturday Night Lights” party on Saturday, October 3 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the New Tampa Family YMCA.

This casual, football-themed event will raise funds to benefit the YMCA’s Building Strong Kids Campaign, which provides scholarships for children and families with special physical and financial needs who cannot otherwise afford the benefits of the YMCA.

“Last year's event was such a hit, that we've decided to continue with that theme,” said Ginger Bean, event chairperson. “Attendees will enjoy supporting their favorite teams while sampling local restaurants' favorite dishes and bidding on unique auction items.  And the best part is, the proceeds will provide opportunities for less fortunate families to participate in the programs and benefits of the YMCA.”

Pasco County AD Bell's firm grip deserves a hand

From the Times:

By John C. Cotey

Phil Bell isn't the kind of guy who beats his chest.

So let me do it for him:

Not here.

Not now.

Not ever.

Of course, that sounds nothing like Bell, the soft-spoken, big-stick carrying Pasco County athletic director.

He is calm, cool and nice enough that if you stay on the phone with him longer than five minutes, you're tempted to ask him out to the nearest eatery for wings and a ball game.

But he is deadly serious about his job.

Bell and Zephyrhills principal Steve Van Gorden's decision Tuesday to fire Zephyrhills football coach Jerrell Cogmon wasn't done specifically to send a message, but it does.

While Hillsborough County has been awash in Transferpalooza this past offseason — more than 50 kids, many notable, have switched allegiances — Bell said he plans to keep a firmer grip on his county.

Cogmon is gone for a few reasons. But most significant: A volunteer assistant coach who left Wesley Chapel for Zephyr­hills had inappropriate contact with one of his former Wildcats via phone, text messages and MySpace pages.

One of those former players decided to transfer to Zephyr­hills. And apparently, Cogmon knew all this was going on.

The rule on that is pretty simple: You can't follow one of your coaches to another school, for whatever reason, without losing athletic eligibility for one year.

"It's the toughest decision I've ever had to make,'' said Van Gorden.

But in some ways, the easiest.

Event sponsorships still available for upcoming YMCA's annual fundraiser

Sponsorships are still availale for the New Tampa Family YMCA's 5th annual “Saturday Night Lights” party, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 3 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the New Tampa Family YMCA.

The casual, football-themed event will raise funds to benefit the YMCA’s Building Strong Kids Campaign, which provides scholarships for children and families with special physical and financial needs who cannot otherwise afford the benefits of the YMCA.

“Last year's event was such a hit, that we've decided to continue with that theme,” said Ginger Bean, event chairperson. “Attendees will enjoy supporting their favorite teams while sampling local restaurants' favorite dishes and bidding on unique auction items. And the best part is, the proceeds will provide opportunities for less fortunate families to participate in the programs and benefits of the YMCA.”

Former Wesley Chapel QB Jenkins to enroll at Troy

From the Times:

By Joey Knight

Former Wesley Chapel quarterback Greg Jenkins, who enjoyed a breakthrough junior college season in 2008, has committed to Division I Troy University.

Jenkins, entering his sophomore season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, said he settled on Troy last week. He plans to complete his associate of arts degree at MGCCC in December and enroll at the south Alabama school in January.

"I feel like it's the best situation for me right now," Jenkins said by cell phone Wednesday morning. "It's basically the same offense (as MGCCC's) — spread, no-huddle, but they throw a lot more than we do. I like that."

A 2008 Wesley Chapel graduate, Jenkins walked on last year but quickly won the starting quarterback job. He threw for 1,407 yards and 14 touchdowns, leading his team (10-2) to a juco state title and bowl victory.

Jenkins (6-2, 210 pounds), who said he was a science credit shy of signing with a four-year program out of high school, will join another former North Suncoast star — ex-Central tailback DuJuan Harris — at Troy.

MGCCC coach Steve Campbell was a lineman for the 1987 Troy team — then known as Troy State — that won a Division II national title.

After bulking up at the training table, college football linemen can see large weight loss when they're done playing

From the Times:

By Greg Auman

TAMPA — When Lee Roy Selmon Jr. first played football at age 13, he weighed 230 pounds. Five years ago, in his final season at USF, he played at 295.

Today, he's gotten used to having to convince people he really played defensive tackle in college.

"That's my biggest challenge nowadays," he says. "They say 'What position did you play? Defensive back? Safety? I must have had it wrong.' "

Today, Selmon weighs 190 pounds. Gone are the size-44 football pants, replaced with size-32 slacks.

"It's a huge difference," said Selmon, 28, one of several former USF linemen who have been able to shed considerable weight after their football days. Once there's no practical benefit to being huge, there's good reason to get down to a healthier weight.

"It melted away fairly quickly once I changed up my diet," said Selmon, who had three knee surgeries as a player and wanted to lighten the burden on his joints. "You look better, you feel better, so it acted as its own incentive."

The son of former Hall of Famer and Bucs legend Lee Roy Selmon estimates his daily intake as a player was more than 4,000 calories over five meals.

"The hardest thing was getting that appetite down, getting that stomach a little smaller to where I wasn't hungry all the time," said Selmon, who starting eating more grilled chicken, fish and seafood. "Steamed vegetables instead of french fries," he said.

Selmon can laugh now about his football years, when staying big was a deciding factor in what he and his linemates ate, especially at team meals.

"We'd just smother everything in ranch dressing," said Selmon, now an account executive with Ultimate Staffing in St. Petersburg. "Instead of a little cup of ranch dressing, we'd have a whole pitcher at our table. We'd drench spaghetti, potatoes, prime rib, everything, all coated in ranch. So just not doing those type of things has really helped a lot."

Derrick Sarosi started 44 games on the offensive line at USF, and when he finished trying to make an NFL roster in 2005, he weighed 335 pounds. Seeking a new challenge, he took up weight loss, buying into the Atkins Diet and weighing himself twice a day. He lost 110 pounds and now has settled in at a healthy 250.

"I'm a different person," said Sarosi, who works in Tampa in construction for a remodeling company. "I just looked at myself and thought 'There's no reason to be 335 pounds.' I wanted to feel better, and it was addicting. I just thought 'It'd be great to get a shirt off the rack and know it would fit.' "

Not all college linemen are meant to be that big. Nick Capogna struggled for five seasons to add weight — and his family owns an Italian restaurant in Clearwater — topping out at about 275 pounds as a senior center in 2007.

Less than two years later, he's down to 225, having had his uniform with the Clearwater Police Department resized twice in six months on the job.

"My job used to be to push people around, but I knew that now, I need to be able to run people down," said Capogna, who recently updated his Facebook status to say he "is sad to say goodbye to XXL and enter the puny world of XL."

Capogna took up a Brazilian jujitsu class and found the workouts helped him drop weight, but a change in diet is the biggest reason.

"I'm not saying everything I eat is healthy, but I go into the grocery store looking for fruits and vegetables," Capogna said.

Capogna remembers seeing teammate Mike Lube, also trying to gain weight for football, melt a gallon of ice cream and drink it from the box. Lube, whose playing career was cut short by a knee injury, is now a program assistant with USF football and has dropped 50 pounds since his playing days.

Dr. Denise Edwards, an assistant professor at USF who runs the college's Healthy Weight Clinic, said dropping to a more normal weight has health benefits all over the body — less susceptibility to high blood pressure, heart and liver disease, and joint problems such as arthritis.

"It's obvious that it can take away a lot of the risk," Edwards said. "As soon as you can get extra weight off the joints, you'll notice the benefits immediately."

That's true for former Florida State center David Castillo, now a medical student at FSU who has dropped about 35 pounds to his current 285.

"As an offensive lineman, you always get picked on by the backs and receivers: 'Oh, you're the big fat guy,' " said Castillo, 27, who regularly runs in 5k races now. "We get the last laugh, because all the linemen thin out after football and all those little guys get heavy."

Spring football capsule: Freedom

From the Times:

By Izzy Gould

Around the county in 30 days  A daily spring preview of every football program in the county

Freedom

Coach: James Harrell (first season) 

Last season: 4-6

District: Class 5A-7 (Brandon, Tampa Bay Tech, Wharton)

Key losses: QB Josh Grady (transfer to Armwood), DL Coril Joseph, OL/DL Carl Saunders, LB/RB Sherrod Cunningham, WR Rodney Lyons

Who's back: LB Keith Lewis, DL Josh Tanner, WR/DB T.J. Mutcherson, WR Jacari Campbell, RB Amonty Dilisea, OL Jimmy Dunphy, WR/DB Robert Lohnes, K Alex Landeta

What's new: Plenty of changes, including first-year coach Harrell arriving from Plant to replace Marquel Blackwell, who resigned after a misdemeanor DUI arrest in January (which has yet to be resolved, according to court records). Harrell was the defensive coordinator for the Panthers for three seasons. He believes defense will be the cornerstone of this year's team. Harrell also promises lots of passing, though that took a hit with the transfer of Grady to Armwood. That leaves quarterback duties to Dustin Rauh, who moves into the position after playing tight end and some defensive line. … Getting work done has been tough with recent rain forcing at least one practice indoors, and a swine flu scare closing school and practice for one week.

Audible: "Practice has been going pretty good. Those days set us back some, but I think we've made up that ground. All you want to get is quality reps, if you're getting that. What we're doing is pretty simple. We'll add more and more pieces to the puzzle as the year goes on. It's new learning for the kids." — Harrell

Did you know? Harrell's coaching staff boasts 37 seasons of NFL playing experience. James Jones played 12 years (Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks), Tony Mayberry 10 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Donnie Elder seven (primarily with the San Diego Chargers and Tampa Bay), and Harrell eight (Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit). "It's intriguing," Harrell said. "The key is everyone is into teaching and doing what the kids can do. We're not trying to implement pro stuff, just trying to maximize the kids' potential."

Spring game: At Freedom, with Wharton, King and Tampa Bay Tech, 6:30 p.m. Friday

2009 schedule

Aug. 28 vs. Alonso (classic)

Sept. 4 at Riverview

Sept. 11 at King

Sept. 17 vs. Sickles

Sept. 25 vs. Gaither

Oct. 9 at Tampa Bay Tech

Oct. 16 vs. Bloomingdale

Oct. 22 at Wharton

Oct. 30 vs. Leto

Nov. 6 vs. Brandon

Nov. 13 at Lennard

Both basketball coaches done at Freedom

From the Times High School Sports blog:

Freedom's athletic department began a new phase of its remodeling project.

The Patriots are now searching for boys and girls varsity basketball coaches after both coaches resigned, Freedom principal Chris Farkas said. The boys team went 5-19 and was led by Randy Grenon. The girls went 6-15 and was led by Jason Herring.

"We're just trying to find someone that has a passion for the sport," Farkas said. "We're looking for someone that can make our kids successful."

Freedom will begin interviews after spring break for both positions as well as its baseball vacancy. Farkas said he would prefer to have an on-campus coach for each job, but would choose "the best applicant."

In addition to those three openings, Freedom recently hired James Harrell to be its varsity football coach.

-- IZZY GOULD

Three Wharton Seniors make it official

From the Times:

TAMPA - Andrew Clifford was a lifelong Florida fan.

Tuesday night, Wharton's former quarterback suddenly found himself rooting for South Carolina.

If that wasn't enough, he had to pinch himself after hanging up with his new coach, Steve Spurrier.

"I was talking to Coach Spurrier on the phone (Tuesday) just talking about basic stuff," Clifford said. "I got off the phone and thought, 'Dang, that's my new coach.' "

Clifford's wild ride to South Carolina was the highlight of a whirlwind week of commitments at Wharton. It culminated in a trio of Wildcats signing letters of intent Tuesday. Jairus Jones is headed to Michigan State and Hunter Stout is going to Louisville.

Wharton never had three D-I signees in football, so this sets a new mark for the program.

"It takes the signings through the roof," Wharton coach David Mitchell said. "This is the best we've ever had at Wharton, and it's because of their hard work and determination."

Stout had visited Auburn, but did not receive an offer. When Louisville came calling he committed.

"Louisville gave me the best chance to be successful," Stout said. "I'm just thankful to be here."

Jones' father is former Detroit Lion James Jones. That bond with Michigan not to mention a handful of family still in the state played into his decision to play at Michigan State.

"My dream is to play in the NFL," Jairus said. "My goal is to earn my degree. Now I have that chance."

(Photo: From left, Wharton's Hunter Stout, Jairus Jones and Andrew Clifford sign their letters of intent. Izzy Gould | Times)

-- IZZY GOULD

Freedom athletes sign letters of intent

Four Freedom High School athletes will sign letters of intent at 11 a.m. Wednesday (Feb. 4) in the media center as part of official signing day:

• Deion Jones, soccer, Florida Gulf Coast University
• Monique LaMotte, soccer, University of New Hampshire
• Coril Joseph, football, Charleston Southern
• Chris Bonti, baseball, Wesleyan University

Wharton High QB Andrew Clifford heading to South Carolina

From the Times:

By IZZY GOULD

TAMPA — The waiting proved agonizing but, ultimately, worth it.

Before Wharton QB Andrew Clifford left Columbia, S.C., on Sunday, he had time to send a handful of text messages.

"I'm a Gamecock," Clifford wrote in one.

The message ended one of the quickest courtships between a school and a prospective athlete, at least on the local scene.

Clifford became a prime target for South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier once former Gamecocks QB Chris Smelley transferred to Alabama to play baseball.

Clifford wanted to play college football at a major Division I program as his father, Tom Clifford, did at Florida in the 1970s.

A prototypical pocket passer, Clifford has plenty of promise. His senior season got off to a slow start, but he finished throwing for 2,263 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His passing got hot toward the end of the season, and he was able to guide the Wildcats to the playoffs, throwing for more than 300 yards in his last three games. By then, many schools had already invested time into other quarterbacks or gained oral commitments.

Smelley, who shared time at quarterback with former Jefferson QB Stephen Garcia, transferred after he played for the Gamecocks in the Outback Bowl. Spurrier reached out to Clifford with a phone call, then a visit to Wharton two weeks ago.

Clifford's commitment ends a flurry of activity with Wharton recruits, which began last week when OL Hunter Stout committed to Louisville, Wildcats assistant Craig Rainey confirmed. On Saturday, SS Jairus Jones committed to Michigan State.

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