We Different proved it is different by winning national tournament
The youth flag football organization is called We Different and as it turned out, the name is quite appropriate.
That’s because a group of youngsters age 6 and under won a national flag football tournament sponsored by the NFL this past winter.
The kids, mostly from Allentown and Bethlehem, won an eight-team tournament featuring teams from other states such as Texas and Hawaii. They went 6-0 to win the NFL Flag Bowl in their age group in Tampa the weekend before the Super Bowl.
They defeated the Heavy Hitters from Connecticut 19-0 in the championship game.
“We want the kids to learn not only football, but people skills,” said founder and coach Justin Millan. “We want the kids to learn how to work together and keep them off the streets. I am from the First Ward in Allentown and it’s not the best of neighborhoods, so I started this team to give the kids something positive to do and help them stay out of trouble, especially during COVID-19. I want these kids to get ahead of the others.”
Millan, who is assisted by Jason Solarek and Zach Brandt, said that even though the kids are in first grade, they have picked up the game of football quickly.
“They are doing a no-huddle offense, they’re reading plays off wristbands, I’m checking off plays at the line of scrimmage,” Millan said. “We had 10 kids on the team that won the championship in Tampa and nine on a 7U team that finished fourth in their tournament.”
Millan said the team flew to Florida and adds “everything we do is self-funded.”
He added that the kids do a lot of things together off the field.
“We had a bunch of kids with birthdays in December and we had a few sleepovers so they could celebrate together because they couldn’t have a normal birthday party with COVID-19,” Millan said. “We played in at least 11 different tournaments last year. We’re already into our new season and everybody is back.”
Millan said the We Different name came from an adult team he was a part of in 2018.
“All of those guys have gone into different organizations, but I wanted to keep the name alive,” Millan said. “So, the kids took over and they’re killin’ it.”
Team members included Justin Shade, Al Zahir Thorne, Ayden Brandt, Derrick Shade, Jayceon Millan, Tevin Millan, Juelz Millan, Zander Barlow, Daxon Oscavich and Lucas Plaza.
Hall of Fame to try again
The Lehigh Valley-Pocono Sports Hall of Fame’s annual induction dinner and ceremony, scheduled for May 8, has been postponed a third time because of COVID-19 restrictions and rescheduled for Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Northampton Memorial Banquet and Event Center in Northampton. The announcement was made by Joe Mayer, president of the Lehigh Valley-Pocono Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with doors opening at 5:30 for a social hour and raffle.
This year’s induction class includes former major league pitcher and Liberty High graduate Gary Lavelle and former North Carolina State football coach and Easton graduate Chuck Amato. Others to be honored include Michael Brichta, Bob Guzzo, Ed Laubach, Tim McClellan, Bill Schmidt, Tom Schoeninger and Jim Villani. Gwen Whilden, who produced 18 state swimming champions at Northampton Area High School, will be inducted posthumously. For tickets ($30 for chapter members, $35 for nonmembers), call Jeffrey R. Zettlemoyer at 610-585-1111 or email zettdr@gmail.com.