Community

New squad offers one more down

The semipro team will try to provide new gridiron success.

By KELLIE DIXON, Times Staff Writer
Published September 18, 2007

They could have stayed home, watched college football and just dreamed about taking another snap.

But these men preferred to take their dreams outside.

More than 20 players showed up Sept. 8 to try out for the West Coast Bears, the newest minor league football team in Brooksville. The men ranged from their early 20s to their mid 40s. Some breezed through the drills. Others spent time working out cramps. None believed his football days were behind him.

The Bears, owned by Brandon Valenca and his father Al, are a member of the Florida Football Alliance. This is the second minor league football team to be based in Brooksville since the Hernando Eagles, a former Southern States Football League squad that merged with another team in 2006. Two tryouts were held in September for the Bears' team.

Brandon Valenca played for roughly five years with the Eagles and said it was important to him to bring a team back to Hernando County.

"I wanted to give the guys a chance to come back home and play," Valenca said.

For Valenca, a 1999 Central graduate and former standout linebacker, Hernando County is home. But some players traveled from as far as St. Petersburg for this chance at football.

Some of them played for coach Ernest Givins when he coached another minor league team, the St. Pete Sharks. Some of them played for Givins when he coached the Eagles.

All of them are familiar with his success - 10 championships, including one with the Eagles - and an ability to put players back in school. In 12 years of coaching minor league football, Givins said he has put 36 players back on college teams. Minor league players are unpaid so they can take courses at a community college, play for the squad and not lose any eligibility.

"A lot of people think semipro or minor league football is a joke," Givins said. "We all make mistakes. We all get in trouble. Here is an outlet for a kid to bounce back, find himself, go out and be successful. That's the only reason I'm here."

Givins made that point clear during the tryout. The former Houston Oilers receiver barked insistently at the players - "It's a 40-yard dash, not a 35." But he also assured them not to fret his varying terminology. His goal is to prepare the players for the next level, whether that means college, Canadian Football League, playing overseas or even the NFL.

But the squad also gives more mature players a chance to relive their glory days. Stephen Smith promises this will be his last season because his 41-year-old body and his family have earned it.

Smitty, as he's called by coaches and teammates, has been playing minor league football for roughly 20 years.

The Spring Hill resident balances his family with his day job - driving a septic truck.

On the weekends, he coaches the West Hernando Cougars varsity youth team. A couple of his youth players sat in the grass during the tryout and watched coach.

Being a role model motivates Smith as much as being on familiar turf motivates Givins. He led the Eagles to a championship after coaching them for one year. He believes the Bears can do it in their first year.

"I put a national championship team here in Brooksville," Givins said. "And now, we're going to build another one."

Kellie Dixon can be reached at kdixon@sptimes.com 352 544-9480.

AT A GLANCE

West Coast Bears Football

Owners: Brandon Valenca, 1999 Central graduate, and father Al Valenca.

Coach: Ernest Givins. The St. Petersburg native set records as a receiver for the Houston Oilers. He agreed to coach the Bears in mid-August.

Home field: Central High School

League: Florida Football Alliance, a minor league operation. The league follows most of the NFL rules.

Web site: www.westcoastbearsfootball.com

2007 opponents: Bradenton Gladiators, Orlando Outlaws, East Coast Reapers, Miami Magic City Bulls, Treasure Coast Hornets, North Florida Rams Association, Gulf Coast Eagles, Polk County War Eagles and Fort Myers Spartans.

[Last modified September 17, 2007, 20:29:54]