It's Queens Magazine
And that’s the concept behind the Queens Falcons Football “Run to Daylight” program, launched in 1997 by Stephen G. Hoffman and Timothy Cavanaugh. Their idea was to help inner city young men in the organization secure a high quality education at some of the top boarding schools in the northeast and local private schools in the New York City area that would normally be unavailable to them due to financial constraints. The program targets good students who can play football.
“Run to Daylight is our bread and butter,” said Neil O’Donnell,” President of Queens Falcons Football. “This program really opens kids’ eyes and let’s them see what’s out there. Some of these schools normally cost $40,000 a year, so this is a tremendous opportunity for them. We’ve sent more than 50 kids to prestigious prep schools.”
Those schools include Choate Rosemary Hall, Poly Prep, New Hampton, Lawrence Academy, St. Thomas Moore, Avon Old Farms, Holy Cross, St. Francis Prep and Pomfret Academy.
Not every kid will qualify for such financial aid, of course, but all of them can learn much about football and life from Queens Falcons Football.
“We always stress to the kids, do the right thing,” O’Donnell said. “Be a good citizen, be respectful of your parents and coaches and teammates, hold the door open for an old woman and don’t expect a thank-you, and don’t walk out of the store with a candy bar even if the cashier is not looking.
“We have a great group of kids. Very well behaved and good learners. They really want to play the game of football. And our coaches do an outstanding job with them. Everybody’s a volunteer, and some of them are putting in 25 hours a week.”
This fall, Queens Falcons Football will again be divided into two sets of teams: the In-House League with four teams per division and the Travel Teams with one team per division. For the In-House League, the Peanuts Division is for ages 6-8 and is limited to 110 pounds, the Junior Varsity is for ages 9-11 and is limited to 140 pounds, and the Varsity is for ages 12-14 with no weight limit.
Travel Team divisions are Pee Wee for ages 11-12 and limited to 150 pounds, Bantam for ages 13-14 with a 175-pound limit, and Intermediate for ages 15-16 with no weight limit. There are roughly 150 kids in the In-House League and 100 on the Travel Teams. Each team plays eight or nine games per season, followed by the playoffs.
The Travel Teams play in the New York City Youth Football League, competing against teams in the other boroughs, including those formerly from the now-disbanded Pop Warner League.
A registration session for the 2010 season will be held on Saturday and Sunday, June 5 and 6, at Mafera Park in Queens. Teams are already practicing without pads. Preseason games will begin the third week of August, with regular-season games starting in late September. Also in August, some of the kids will participate in a four-day Iroquois Springs Football Camp in Rock Hill, N.Y.
“We’ve added about 50 to 60 kids to the program over the past couple of years, and our goal now is to get bigger,” O’Donnell said. “We want to reach out to even more neighborhoods.”
Two upcoming events will serve as fundraisers for Queens Falcons Football and the Run to Daylight program. On July 13, Poker Night will be held beginning at 6:30 p.m. at 13 Crosby St. in Manhattan. On July 26, the Stephen G. Hoffman Annual Golf Outing will be held in honor of Mr. Hoffman, who lost his life in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The non-profit organization began as the Forest Hills Football League in 1957. It developed from a small intramural town league to a six-division league. The organization’s mission is to provide the youth in New York City an opportunity to develop talents and skills they will use today and later on in life both on and off the field.
Those interested in learning more about Queens Falcons Football may contact O’Donnell at coach2201@aol.com.
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