youth football championship teams coming to Canton in December

General Published on : 12/3/2018

Every night, under the bright lights out behind Geneva High School, you will find an energetic troop of young football players running through drills and trying their darndest to catch a football made slippery by the falling snow.

"Line up, line up, line up," calls Travis Tolbert Sr.

The 32-degree night and wet snow doesn't seem to bother anyone. Two are practicing a high-flying chest bump, two others are doing a special handshake, while another is rolling snowballs between plays.

But when coach yells "GO" it's all business for this group. It's their very last practice before heading to Canton, Ohio, for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Academy Youth World Championship regional.

And that's a pretty big deal for these 7, 8, and 9-year-old kids.

"For some kids it's their first time ever leaving New York State," said Tolbert.

The team, called the Geneva Junior Panthers C-Squad, was invited to the championships last year after finishing first in their league, but they found out too late to raise enough funds for the trip.

All eyes on Coach Travis Tolbert Sr. during practice this week.

They had similar success this year, again finishing first in the league, and managed to raise just over $9,000 needed for the 4-day trip.

"Most of the kids are NFL fans, so they know about the Hall of Fame. The fact that they get to play in the same compound that some as the NFL guys have been to, they're pretty stoked about it," Tolbert said.

Twenty-two kids make up the team, which is part of the Finger Lakes Youth Football and Cheerleading League.

The Panthers will play a team from Rochester, N.Y., on Friday, and if they win, will get a chance at the regional championship on Sunday.

If they advance from there, they'll play in the World Championship in Canton, Ohio, the middle of December.

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