Youth Football

I posted this on the "OTHER" message board also.

Well.....I have just completed my season with my 2 sons Aaron 120lb and Brandon 75lb teams.

First...Aarons team (13 under 120lb) won the Anne Arundle County Youth Championship played at the Naval Academy Stadium for the second year in a row going undefeated BUT, coming up short in the Maryland POP Warner Superbowl played at the Ravens M&T Bank Stadium.

This is Aarons last year playing youth football before moving to high school next year as a freshman. He is a little spoiled having a 7 year record of 58 wins and 14 losses, with the last 4 years going undefeated and only giving up 58 points in 4 years. I have been fortunate to have been able to coach Aaron for the past 6 years, this season I moved down to coach my younger son Brandon at the 8 under 75lb.

As for Brandon..he completed his third year playing ..This was my first year coaching his team unfortinatly going 6 -3 and losing in the second round of playoffs, but they will have everyone returning next year and are the early favorites to win at the 85lb division.

If anyone who knows Brandon he has Treacher Collins syndrome which is a condition in which the cheek bones and jawbone are underdeveloped and their ears are frequently abnormal. This does have some effect on the hearing and speach. At first I was a little worried in letting him play, but seeing him play with his older brother made me a believer. He could hold his own. This year he was a co-captian of his team playing both ways, fullback and linebacker, leading his team in tackles. He has made me so proud this year, making my decision to return to coach his team next year easy.

Brandon will be having surgery in February to reconstruct his right ear. He only has 2 of the 3 inner bones that require to hear. Knowing he can handle himself makes me feel confident that he will grow to handle what ever god has put in front of him.

Hopefully he will have a speedy recovery because he knows baseball starts in March. Yes he plays baseball too. I'm not telling everyone this because I like bragging about my kids...lord knows I got a special crew....

Its times like these that kind of makes you just say its great to be a part of someones life. I wish everone a happy holliday season and remember this....

Dont ever take anything for granted, life is what you make of it. everything happens for a reason. be strong, be proud, and the lord will lead the way.

God Bless
Larry Stoner


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HOOK em' HORNS

[NEW CASTLE HiTMEN]

Larry,

Tell Brandon to just keep plugging along and I will pray for him to recover quickly from his surgery. That is one good thing with sports it can make your problems dissapear for a few hours. THumbs up for Brandon.

[Coach K-LO]

What Happen To My Other Post On This Thread??


Anyway, Keep Up The Good Work, Stoner Family.

Kids are simply amazing. They are only "handicapped" when we as adults convince them that they are. Until and unless that happens, they do things the same if not better than those without infirmities. Congrats to both your sons - and you - and good luck in future seasons.

My prayers are with you and your family as you go through the surgery and a speedy recovery so your lil guy can continue his love for sports.

Your story reminded me of another:

Two kids were playing on the ice when one fell through. As you know, the current took him to the edge and there he seemed trapped. Seeing his friend (or brother) under ice, the younger one grabbed a nearby tree branch and pounded on it until it broke and his friend/brother was able to climb out. When onlookers/paramedics/??? (read: "adults") evaluated the situation, they concluded that it was impossible for that lil guy to break through the ice with that lil stick. The jist of the story is: NOBODY was around to tell him it was impossible!!! He got the job done with what he had.