Under the Lights, a national K-8 coed youth sports organization, empowered by Under Armour, will begin its inaugural flag football season locally on Jan. 13, 2017.
Parents can register their children until Nov. 30. The entry fee is $135 per player and includes seven regular season games, plus playoffs. All players will receive custom Under Armour uniforms. Games will be played Friday nights from 6 to 10 p.m. at Lakes by the Bay Park in Cutler Bay.
The league commissioner will be former Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers player Antonio Robinson who was born and raised in Miami. Robinson, a member of the Super Bowl XLV champion Packers in 2011, hopes Under the Lights will provide the community with a youth sports service previously unavailable at this level.
“Flag football is huge here in Miami, but for the most part kids have to travel far to play in a proper league,” Robinson said. “With Under the Lights, all the games are held in one convenient location and every kid will get to play, which is great. We teach them physical fitness, sportsmanship, how to behave on the field and help them build character, which to me is among the most important things we can do.”
Games will be played in a six-versus-six format, with nine players minimum per team. Boys and girls will play on the same teams. There are no tryouts or drafts; rosters are formed by friend or coach request. Single players will be placed with teams whose members attend the same school, live in the same neighborhood or belong to common community organizations. At the end of the season, players from the championship team in each grade bracket will be awarded trophies.
All coaches are volunteer parents who pass background screenings and become certified through an online course available on the Under the Lights website. While “mini practices” may be held up to a half hour before games each Friday, parents are encouraged to hold as many practices as they can during the week as well.
“If you are interested in registering your kids, signing up as a volunteer coach or both, I recommend doing so as soon as possible,” he says.
Under the Lights is still offering sponsorships opportunities to local businesses interested in promoting themselves by contributing to a positive organization in their community. Current sponsors include Sports Clips, Titan Printing and Pubgrill Miami.
“Cutler Bay is an awesome place and we feel that by supporting this grassroots football effort in the community that there is a great opportunity for parents and local businesses to be exposed to hundreds of families,” said Dave Beaudin, sponsorship coordinator for Under the Lights.
“For an Olympic brand like Under Armour that has had so much exposure right now at the greatest levels of sport to move into South Florida and sponsor a youth sports organization like Under the Lights is a big deal. You can have your brand right next to theirs on the field,” he said.
For more information, visit www.UAFLAG.com.
