Teams finish undefeated seasons on the football field
By Marcy Horwitz CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Metro Youth Football League's Chesterfield Junior Giants celebrate after completing an undefeated season.

Teams from the Metro Youth Football League (MYFL) and the Woolridge Athletic Association (WAA) recently proved that Chesterfield can't be beat - at least, when it comes to football. MYFL's Chesterfield Junior Giants and the WAA's Woolridge Wildcats are tops in their respective conferences. Each enjoyed an undefeated season, and each has a story to tell.

"We did it!"

Kathy Horvath, a Woodlake area resident, is one proud Giant parent.

For the first time since the MYFLwas established in 1998, the Giants, a junior team, won the Richmond area's youth championships, finishing out an undefeated season.

Horvath's older son, Eric, played wide receiver for the 2007 Giants. At 14, he has just aged out of the league. But the Horvath legend will live on in the MYFL: Zachary, 12, is a linebacker on the Giant's midget team.

The MYFLis arguably the largest sports organization you've never heard of. More than 5,000 boys and girls, ages 5-15, are organized into 20 youth football and cheerleading associations throughout the metro region, all supported by some 1,000 volunteers. The Giants, whose membership comes largely from Chester, is the MYFL's only member located south of the James.

As part of the Chesterfield Quarterback League, the Woolridge Wildcats are Super Bowl champs this year.

Playing requires a serious commitment from both players and parents. Starting in mid- August, players practice five nights a week. When school starts, the team cuts practice time to three nights each week. Away games are often an hour away, which means that many team members (and the tired parents who drive them) rise before dawn to beat the clock. Still, parents like Horvath appreciate what their sons have gotten from playing in the league.

"The children who work hard really get a chance to excel and learn," she says, unlike other leagues, where many hopeful young players are sidelined at an early stage in their development. And players learn important life lessons both on and off the field. That's because, as Horvath explains, "The MYFLis dedicated to teaching football to today's youth, along with a sense of civic responsibility, high character and moral standards, respect for authority, and, of course, a good sense of competitiveness and fair play."

The spirit of volunteerism is strong through the Giants. "All of our coaches are volunteers," says Horvath. A more committed group would be hard to find: none of them has a child on the team. "They are just a terrific bunch of men!"

Horvath herself is an active volunteer. She shoots photos of all the teams - Flags (ages 5-7), Pee-Wees (8-10), Midgets (10-12) and Juniors. A recent afternoon found her sorting through 720 pictures she'd taken during the season. Husband Rick is also a volunteer, helping out wherever he can.

Woolridge Wildcats claim Super Bowl

As competitors in the Chesterfield Quarterback League, the WAA's Woolridge Wildcats ended their season undefeated last month as Super Bowl Champions. This is the team's second appearance in the Super Bowl in the last three years. With an offense led by Janiard Lambert and Brandon Laury, the Wildcats scored a whopping 292 points in 12 games, averaging 24.4 points per game. The defense only gave up 53 points for the year - an average of 4 points per game.

Dave Donaho is the Wildcats' head coach, a volunteer position he has held for the past seven years.

"It's all about the kids," he says. "This is a great group of boys." As a father of a son himself - Ben, 13, is aging out of play with the Wildcats - he knows how important it is to help young people. "We need to make sure these kids have something to do in their spare time." WAA responds by organizing flag level teams for six and seven year olds, minor level teams for eights and nines, junior level teams for 10's and 11's, and the senior team for 12's and 13's.

In addition to football, the WAA sponsors baseball, softball and basketball teams - and cheering activities for each sport - for children, tweens and teens. Players typically come from the Woodlake, Foxcroft and Foxfire communities.

Having just celebrated the Wildcats' victory, Donaho and Ben are now ready for basketball season to start.