Upstart youth football team has national championship aspirations in inaugural season

Local youth football team gives back

Sean Barie reports

LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - About a year ago, Eddy Merino Jr. a long-time youth football coach, came up with the idea of starting a new team.

"We just wanted to put something together locally to give our kids an opportunity to play against teams from different areas in the country," Merino said.

But after 15 years coaching football around the Tampa Bay area, even Merino couldn't have scripted the season his team is now having.

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"I'm very happy about that. Very happy about that," Merino said.

Pulling together kids from around the area, most who had never met one another, the Tampa Tar Heels 10 & under team was officially ready for its inaugural season.

"I knew there was a lot of good culture, good coaching, and we could be a team that could really win," said the Tar Heels' Quarterback Jahleel Athey.

Winning is exactly what the Tar Heels have done this season. So far, the upstart team of 10-year-olds has won all seven of its games and has yet to surrender a single point to their opponents.

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"It's the greatest feeling, because we know that our defense is going to help us," Athey said.

Though the Tar Heels' roster boasts players from all around the Tampa Bay area, the team uses the Imagine School in Land O'Lakes as their home base. The school, however, sustained damage from Hurricane Milton.

Now, the Tarpons are hoping to give back to the school that allowed them to become a team in the first place by using the team's GoFundMe account to raise donations for the school.

"There wouldn't be a Tar Heels, necessarily, without this school allowing us to utilize this field for practices," Merino said. "They've been so awesome for us, so we want to help them out any way we can."

Hoping to set an example off the field, the Tar Heels are also hoping to set a new tone for it by trying to advance to the national championships later this season.

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"They care. They care about the outcome," Merino said about his players.

As this upstart team of 10-year-olds lays the foundation for a bright future of football.

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