Even though the Lake Nona Jr. Lions (14U) team played their championship game in early December, they’re still savoring the successful season that crowned them the 2017 Florida Youth Football and Cheer League (FYFCL) Youth Football Superbowl Champions. Reginald Warren, coach of the 14U Jr. Lions team, has plans next season to continue working on the elements that brought them exceptional success in 2017 and build on the already strong foundation the team has established. “The kids persisted in practice all season long, beginning during the preseason and persevering to the final game,” he says. “Our coaches were diligent and hard-working, too, and that helped us during the run to the championship.”
The team finished with a winning season record of 7-1 and were crowned runner-up in the AAU national title game. Reggie believes every game helped to develop the players’ ability to overcome adversity. “We were having an undefeated season until the last game of the season,” he says. “That loss helped us re-focus into the playoffs and all the way through winning the FYFCL Superbowl, earning the right to go to AAU Nationals.”
Reggie brings 13 years of coaching experience to the Jr. Lions that started when he was in the Marine Corps coaching a semi-pro team. He later coached Pop Warner teams in San Diego and Illinois and then began coaching the Lake Nona Jr. Lions when he moved to Florida several years ago. “I love to coach the game of football because coaching is a little like sowing seeds into the lives of young men and women,” Reggie said. “I get to have one-on-one conversations with them so I can share little gems of wisdom that can help sharpen their life skills outside of football. Every chance I get, I tell these young athletes that football is fun but education comes first.”
Even though last season’s championship run was a thrilling experience for the team, the Lake Nona Jr. Lions are looking ahead and eager to start practicing for next season. “The Superbowl win shows that we have a strong, solid youth program with the Lake Nona Jr. Lions,” Reggie said. “There’s a lot of talent in the Lake Nona community, and the Jr. Lions are a force to be reckoned with as we move forward, building a high school state championship team.”
Sidebar article:
Coach Anthony Paradiso Shares Expertise With Jr. Lions Program
For the first time this upcoming season, Anthony Paradiso, coach of the Lake Nona High School Lions, will be sharing his coaching insight with the Lake Nona Jr. Lions. He brings his expertise and successful approach of focusing on the fundamentals to help the Jr. Lions shape their rapidly growing program.
Coach Paradiso, who has been the head coach of the Lake Nona Lions since 2011, is looking forward to providing an overarching cohesiveness to the youth football programs. “We want to align our methodology, processes, and framework so as the kids move up into a new age group, the system is more familiar to them and easier to adjust to,” he said. “I think it’s going to give our kids a great advantage as we share insights and align our programs.”
Coach Paradiso hopes that when the young athletes from the Jr. Lions teams reach Lake Nona High School, they’ll find a familiar face. “I’ve had the privilege of coaching every player in Lake Nona High School’s history since I’ve been here when the school opened, and I look forward to sharing our football philosophy with young athletes of the future.”
Valerie Sisco lives in Lake Nona, where she writes the blog Grace with Silk http://www.gracewithsilk.com/. Follow her journeys via Twitter @GraceWithSilk, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gracewithsilk, and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/valeriesisco/.
