The Largest Youth Football & Cheer Organization in the Country

Orlando benefits from Young's efforts

By Jim Myers, Special to AmericanYouthFootball

There is a movement afoot in Orlando, Fla., to unseat the traditional youth athletics infrastructure. Led by former businessman Tim Young, the Junior Braves Athletic Association has exploded in less than three years of existence and is taking the city by storm.

From its meager beginnings on a picnic bench in front of a local high school to the current plan to move into a 7,000 square foot facility this year, the Junior Braves Athletic Association is growing exponentially each year. The association gives a chance for participation to children who otherwise would never be able to play.

This isn't your normal story of a coach or parent who wanted to change an existing system. Instead, it's the tale of a man who came to an awakening and built his association from scratch.

Young, an Orlando resident, was working in mergers and acquisitions in 2001, and was on a business trip to Boston in September. That's when his life, like so many other Americans, would change forever.

Young was more than 1 ,000 miles away from his family following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 and had no airline transportation home, because all flights were grounded. He decided to drive from Boston to Albany, N.Y. to see his sister and her family. As fate would have it, Young went to see his nephew play youth football in Albany, and the event sparked an epiphany.

"I thought to myself, 'They have such a great league in place here. Why don't we have something like this back in Orlando ?'" says Young. "So I got the details about their leagues and began to get to work."

Young, former committee member of Orlando 's Family, Parks and Recreation, immediately talked to his neighbors about starting a new athletic association, then polled the local area and began to put together a business plan. By February 2002, the association was ready to go — with Tim Young running the football operation and Dara Trujillo taking care of cheerleading.

"We didn't know what to expect that first year," Trujillo recalls. "The response has been incredible. A lot of it is because there was a need for a clean, competitive sports league in this area."

The first season had about 250 participants for flag and tackle football, as well as cheerleading. The following year saw the association to expand to AAU baseball operations. By the time 2005 rolls around, the Junior Braves will offer wrestling, gymnastics and lacrosse. The AAU baseball club is the largest in Florida and will most likely grow to be the largest in the Eastern United States by next year.

Despite the bevy of sports options offered by the Junior Braves — which is a member of American Youth Football — Young feels a sense of belonging is more important than athletic endeavors.

"We believe in family and community, then sports," Young explains. "Community is often overlooked before sports, but we want to be part of the community first."

To that end, local businesses have thrown some considerable weight behind the association. Such area heavyweights as Disney, AirTran Airways, Publix Supermarkets and Marriott Vacation Club are sponsors to the Junior Braves. In addition, the association put on its first fair last autumn — complete with rides and games.

The organization is expanding so rapidly, it has outgrown the local high school facilities. As if to underscore its commitment to the community, the association recently built an indoor/outdoor facility in Orlando, with nearly 7,000 square feet indoors and 6,000 square feet outdoors. There are also plans in the works to expand the indoor facility by 1 0,000 square feet and to acquire more than 40 acres for baseball and football fields. And, Young has recently adopted the City of Orlando Youth Football League .

While this feat is impressive in itself, perhaps what is more amazing is how it is all being accomplished — completely with private funds.

"The biggest obstacle in all of this was getting over the initial fear of whether we could accomplish it," says Young. "There are people who are talkers and there are people who are doers. I guess we're doers."

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc.