newrockredskins: My Site News

The 2009 season saw a change in leadership for NewRock and a huge growth in the number of kids participating in football and cheerleading. As always it was a challenging experience for all board members, volunteers, and coaches. I want to personally thank all the parents, players, cheerleaders, coaches, and volunteers who helped make this season a success and look forward to seeing everyone back for the 2010 season.

The 6u redskins were led by Head coach Jason Boyd. This group of young men were a scrappy bunch and finished the year at 5-5. Many of these players were playing in their first year and showed improvement week after week and we are very excited about these kids and what they will accomplish next year.

The 8u redskins were led by first year Head coaches (Moose and Jon) and finished the season at 6-4. This team had as much talent as any Newrock team this year. We are expecting great things from these young men next year.

We had two 9u redskin teams this year and both were highly competitive throughout the season. Head coach Fred Lucero led his 9u team to a 5-5 record. Many of these players have been in the Newrock program for two years. These young men are ready to make a deep run in the playoffs and possibly bring back a championship.The other 9u redskins were led by head coach Bryce Smith and they finished the season 7-3. This was the first year these players were able to play together and experience travel football. I watched this team every week get better and they finished the year in the championship game and almost pulled out the victory. This team along with the other 9u redskins will be the team to watch next year.

The 10u redskins were led by first year head coach Phillip Alexander and these players finished the regular season 9-1. This group of kids have been with Newrock for three years and I have watched them mature into a great group of young men. These kids have endured some tough moments playing together in the past at Newrock. That changed this year and these kids experienced winning and they were one game from making it to the championship game and as an all 11 & under team we think they will finally get their championship.

The 12u redskins were led by head coach Chris Sizemore and they finished the season 9-1. This group of players have been together a very long time and have won three Super Bowls. This year they competed at a high level but could not get past the semifinals of the GXYFL playoffs. This team did finish the year with a championship in the Mcdonough Turkey Bowl tournament.

1. NEWROCK'S inaugural season was a major success for the players, cheerleaders, coaches, and parents who joined with us to make a change in the surrounding communities. On behalf of NewRock, I would like to thank all who helped make this such an enjoyable season. The NewRock board would like to especially thank Ken Hall for his involvement and help with all the activities he helped us with throughout the football and cheerleading season.

2. We would like to take a moment to talk about the exceptional job the coaches did this year with many first year players who had never left Newton or Rockdale to play teams from other counties or associations.

6U
The 5&6 year olds that made up this team were probably the most enjoyable to watch this season. These kids made us very proud with what they accomplished this year. Led by first year head coach, Jason Boyd, this team improved each week that they were together. Coach Boyd did a great job with kids who had never played before and as any coach knows young and inexperienced can make for a long season. But coach Boyd was able to lean on some players who had played before which included: Tyler Blount, Jelani Boyd, Randy Hayes, Dede Thomas ,and Makari Weems. This team won the Dekalb Trojan Classic in mid-August and then finished the regular season with a record of 8-2 and placed third in the standings. The 6u Redskins made it to the semifinals and were only 48 seconds away from going to the championship but were denied by a late touchdown by the Glenwood Hills Panthers. The coaches did a fine job and we expect this team to excel this upcoming season.

8U
The 7&8 year olds turned out to be a very competitive bunch of players led by experienced head coach Tony Jenkins. Again, many of these kids had never played football or traveled to other counties to play football. Coach Jenkins and his staff were led by some very talented players including: Jonathon Waite, Mikel Stone, Jalen Anderson, Tyrese Gibson, Marcus Howell, and Cortland Abrams. The 8u Redskins finished the regular season in second place with a record of 5-5. This team made it to the championship game and came up a little short against the Ola Mustangs and were the runner-up in the CYFL. This group did an outstanding job and we are so proud of them. 

9U
The 9u Redskins are the foundation on which NewRock is built. This team has been together for over four years and has shown others what a team can do when they stick together year after year. This team started out as 6 year olds and now have won back-to-back league championships. Led by head coach Chris Sizemore, these young men have learned to play together and become a team that refuses to quit. There are many who helped this team achieve the success they have over the last four years including: star linemen (Siyani Boyd, Joseph Loreto, Case Segrest, Blake Hall, and Nick Johnson), running backs (Deandre Huff, Alandis Ford, TayTay Gowan, Montae Bailey, and Chad Smith), and receivers (JeJuan McCalston, Dray(Nasty)Huff, and Jared Simpkins). I would like to also mention 3 players who, although, were new to the team made huge contributions and without them this team would not have won the championship and they are: Stephen Montac, Romario(Ray-J)Johnson, and Andrew Hinton. The 9u Redskins won the league championship with 48 seconds to go in regulation and held on for a 33-26 final score over the Glenwood Hills Panthers.

10U
The 9&10 year olds were lead by Coach Decorrey Bolton and Coach Cleon Williams. These scrappy bunch of kids played hard all season and improved week by week. The team finished the season with a 2-8 record during the regular season. The majority of the kids on the team had never played football and let alone traveled outside Newton or Rockdale to play. The team battled all season and came up short of making it to the championship with a loss to River Road Raiders in the semifinals. These guys were lead by Robert Faust, Mike Brown, Freddy Davis, and Sadiq Baker. The team’s growth was the greatest of all the NewRock teams. We are expecting big things from these guys next season.