Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, – Two Florida High School 7v7 Association member teams met this past Saturday for a regular season contest in Ponte Vedra Beach for a morning of 7v7 head to head competition. The Clay Blue Devils faced off against the Ponte Vedra Sharks in what was a great competitive and spirited matchup.
Both teams had nearly 30 man rosters and full coaching staffs, and there was a nice crowd on hand to watch the competition, which lasted for most of the morning.
Regular season competition rules for FHS7v7A member teams state that the coaches can agree prior to the contest on the format for competition that best suits their programs. In this case, Coach Matt Toblin from Ponte Vedra and Coach Josh Hoekstra of Clay decided that they would split the field in half.
For the first half of competition, for almost an hour, one side of the field the Ponte Vedra offense went against the Clay defense and on the other side of the field, the Clay offense competed against the Ponte Vedra defense. During this period, subs rotated in every few plays and everyone got substantial reps.
After a brief intermission head to head competition followed. For the next 30 minutes each team took turns driving the field. When the action was over, Ponte Vedra came out on top 12-0. Both teams huddled together at midfield in a show of good sportsmanship and both head coaches took turns addressing both teams on what had occurred that morning for each of them.
“It was a great opportunity to come out here and compete against another opponent and see what we need to work on before May,” said Coach Hoekstra.
Coach Toblin said “The goal for all of us is to work everyday to get better. This is part of it, and today we got better. Hopefully both teams will have great football seasons and see each other again deep in the playoffs.”
The day was a great example of the potential for teams that join the FHS7v7A. Players have the opportunity to compete while working on their skills and coaches have the opportunity to test their offensive and defensive game plans, while coaching up their players on position specific techniques and other intangibles, all taking place in a positive, pro-sportsmanship environment, led by high school coaches.
The Florida High School 7v7 Association State Series Playoffs start April 25th in Palm Coast for a Regional Qualifying Tournament. The top 4 teams will advance to the Inaugural FHS7v7A State Championship on Saturday June 27th. It’s not too late to still sign up for post season play and register your team for the Qualifier on April 25th for a chance to win a FHS7v7A State Title. Just visit www.FHS7v7A.com or email info@fhs7v7a.com for more information. $25/player and $30/coach. No walkup registrations the day of the tournament will be accepted.
