In Newport News, the Saints are without a home.
Amazing as the statement may seem, Chaplain Deborah
Mitchell from the World Outreach Center in Denbigh insists it is true. For
years, the Golden Saints, the football and cheerleading teams representing the
Center in the Peninsula Youth Football and Cheerleading Organization (PYFCO), have
played games here, there, and everywhere…else.
For the record, the Saints are not a small operation.
There are four teams, players and cheerleaders, for each of the age groups represented
in the PYFCO. They include the Mites (ages 6-7), the Mighty Mites (8-9), the
Midgets (10-11) and the Juniors (12-14). In all, the Golden Saints are
represented by a contingent totaling over 150 individuals - 91 players, 32 cheerleaders,
19 volunteer coaches (16 for football, three cheerleading), and another
volunteer staff of 13 which handle everything from equipment, parent
volunteers, photographs and the team website (www.leaguelineup.com/goldensaints).
Their annual budget exceeds $20,000, which pays for uniforms, referees, league
fees and other necessary expenses. It is a figure which is becoming
increasingly harder to reach.
By comparison, PYFCO, (www.pyfco.org/home) known as the Peninsula Youth
Football Association (PYFA) until this year, is also a fully built organization.
The league, now in its 52nd year, has expanded from a four-team
league centered in York County to a regional force with over 60 teams
representing 16 groups from around the Peninsula, as well as Gloucester and
Middlesex. In all, over 1,700 athletes and nearly 800 cheerleaders participate
in what the promoters like to call the “Best Game in Town.” It is the
culmination of a dream started by Vernon Taylor and George Teagle, Jr., long
time youth league supporters and the driving forces behind the success of PYFA.
Both men passed away recently, Taylor in 2007 and Teagle in 2008.
The culmination of each season is the league “Super
Bowl”, when the championship games for each division are played in succession.
Last year, the finals were held at Wanner Stadium in Williamsburg.
Because of the strong community support for the
league’s teams, all of the organizations enjoy a home field to practice and
play their games on. While the Golden Saints are allowed to hold their
practices at nearby Lee Hall Elementary, it is not a marked field; therefore,
it is unsuitable to play games there.
“There are two things we need,” says Mitchell,
herself a beacon of positivity and hope, known for greeting everyone with a
“How are you?” and “God Bless You!” “Mike Barber from the Newport News
Department of Parks, bless his heart, was kind enough to give us Lee Hall to
practice. In the month of October, it’s very hard because there are no lights.
We make a formation and use the headlights from cars.”
The problem is greater than the lack of lights.
“It doesn’t have a community feel because we don’t
have a place to call our own” adds Mitchell. “All these other teams have theirs
(home fields). Some teams have had theirs for years.”
The team does have substantial support when it comes
to sponsorship.
“We are thankful for the help we have received from
various organizations in the community. Out of 123 children, 34 are sponsored.
The church itself sponsors 10 individuals who wouldn’t be able to play
otherwise. The dad or mom might be in jail or strung out on drugs. Single moms with
three or four children can’t afford to pay $110 for a child to play ball. But
by them practicing every night in August with us, they’re off the streets.”
Indeed, the Saints practice four nights a week through the fall, leaving only
Wednesday open so the families can fulfill their religious obligations. The
church, in cooperation with Newport News Public Schools, provides meals, which they
can’t receive from school because of the summer holiday. Because of their
Christian affiliation, some of the traditional moneymakers, such as raffles and
the like, are off limits because of the gambling nature of such activities. “We
did car washes every month in the summer. It’s not enough to bring in
sufficient income; we’re still in the negative right now.”
What Mitchell and the Saints need are a blessing and
a helping hand.
“We would like to find somebody who sees the work
that we’re doing and is willing to say, I like what you all are doing, let me
help you. We need two things – a home and land to play on from August to November.”
In other words, a saintly act.
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