YMCA opens new fields for youth football league

LAKEWOOD RANCH —The Lakewood Ranch Colts aren’t going anywhere.

For the first time since the Lakewood Ranch YMCA became part of the YMCA youth football league, the Colts will play all of their games on their home field.

Beginning in July, the Colts will hold all of their practices and games at the Lakewood Ranch branch.
The campus also will serve as the official game site for the entire YMCA youth football league, which comprises nearly 30 teams, ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade.

The Colts, who began their three-week spring training skills-and-drills regimen last week, previously practiced at the YMCA and then traveled on Saturdays to the Premier Sports Campus for games.

In May 2013, the Lakewood Ranch YMCA began a field renovation to create two regulation-size football fields for its tackle football program.

The two-month process included leveling the land, installing irrigation and planting new grass.

“It was something our CEO (Sean Allison) decided there was a need for it,” Lakewood Ranch YMCA Sports Director Scott Macy says. “We had a nice area back there, but it was bumpy and you couldn’t really do much with it.

“Now we can use the space not only for football, but also for our youth soccer program,” Macy says. “We’ll now be able to use the space year-round as opposed to having a big grassy area just sitting there.”

The Colts held a pair of playoff games on the fields last fall, but this is the first time the organization will play an entire season at home.

Registration for the upcoming fall tackle football season, which is open to players ages 6 to 14, is now underway. Cost is $150 for members and $175 for nonmembers and includes equipment. Practice will begin mid-July. The four Colts teams practice three days a week with all of their games played on Saturdays.

“For us to have fields and be able to do our program on-site is huge,” Macy says. “Now, we’re able to say everything we do is here. That’s a big selling point. We don’t have to travel at all.

“I can’t speak for other programs, but our coaches are top-notch,” Macy says. “They are good people and, for them, it’s about more than just winning. It’s about teaching them the fundamentals to play at the next level. We’ve been lucky. Our coaches get that. They care about the kids and making them better people.”

For more information or to register, contact Macy at 782-0220, Ext. 104 or [email protected].

Registration forms are available online or at the front desk of the Lakewood Ranch YMCA, 5100 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].