Consisting of five and six year old players, the Pace Mighty Mites football team with the Pace Athletic and Recreation Association will take the field during this Saturday’s North West Florida Youth Sports Alliance Championship in Gulf Breeze.
None of the players on the team seem at all nervous about the championship match, especially since they have a undefeated regular season record of 8-0 and winning the last two playoff games.
In his first year as the PARA president, Seth Cumbie who also serves as the head coach for the team, said this is the first time a PARA Mighty Mites team has gone undefeated during a regular season, while heading towards a championship game.
Cumbie said it is no surprise the team is excelling in football, based upon their performance in tee-ball earlier this year.
“Half of the players on our team has won the world series in tee-ball as well…they are used to winning, they are not used to losing,” Cumbie said. “They love to stay busy and they love to play together.”
Many of the kids love the sport and the physical activity which comes with it.
“I love running all of the positions,” said Isaiah Purifoy, who plays both running back and safety for the Mighty Mites. “I feel good about tackling and running.”
Like many of teammates, Purifoy plans to keep playing the sport for years to come.
“It is a very good sport and it helps me exercise,” he said.
In addition to keeping the youngsters healthy by keeping them active with exercise, sports also keeps their minds focused, according to John Herndon, a father with twin boys on the team.
“Organized sports kept me out of trouble,” he said. “You did not have time to get into trouble and when you did have time, you were too tired.”
His youngest sons, Josh and Curt were also inspired by their older brother Logan Guerrero, who also played in the same league. Guerrero also played at center for the Pace High School Patriots during his senior year this past season.
“That is part of what got them wanting to play,” Herndon said.
Herndon said this a crucial age in order to find out if his boys are interested in the sport, adding the choice to play is totally up to the twin boys.
“This is the age where you make or break them. If they are not having fun they won’t come back,” Herndon said. “Mine are already talking about coming back next year…they leave having fun every day.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pace Mighty Mites head to championship