The Scoop...July 18, 2011
Posted by Jim Krumel
on Jul 18, 2011
The Lima Warriors are a football team playing in a league like no other, the Lima Rotary Club learned from team representative Aaron Matthews.
Matthews provided stats, insights and tidbits about the Warriors, noting:
This year's team has a 9-0 record and has won 15 games in a row dating back to a year ago. The 15-game winning streak is the second most in team history, the record being 19 straight.
The players are not paid. The play for the fun of the game.
The players range in age from 18 to 41. They come from a one- to two-hour radius of Lima. They range from police officers to semi truck drivers and prison guards to teachers. Around 10 are local players, including Biggie Thompson (Lima Senior), Tyler Bly (Elida) and Jason Bott (Perry). Others come from Toledo, Dayton, Mansfield, Fremont, Fort Wayne and Columbus. Big Dale at 6-foot-7, 450 pounds is the biggest player.
Players have six combinations of uniforms based on three jerseys and two pairs of pants. Players take care of their own wash.
Practices are held three to four hours before a game. They use U-Tube to watch films during the week.
The games are geared to be "family friendly." If a player is called for a personal foul, he sits out for a quarter. The players' children are typically the cheerleaders. A game may feature side entertainment like a petting zoon.
Lima competes in the Heartland League and has had much success. The team has been around for 11 years, posting a 116-32-1 record. It won the national championship last year, traveling to Florida to play in a tournament.
The players use a church bus for away games and it's driven by their kicker. They called it the "Jesus Bus." The church's only requirement is to make sure the bus is clean for Sunday.
The meeting was called to order by Vice President Jim Osmon.
Members having guest were Bruce Opperman (Andy Young) and Larry Webb (Juan Manuel Chavez).
Tre Waldren of Berlin, Wisc., was a visiting Rotarian.
Michael Ayers presented a slide show of the trip he and his family had with Viri Roldan, who is here on the Rotary Youth Exchange.
Attendance for the previous meeting was 77.
This year's team has a 9-0 record and has won 15 games in a row dating back to a year ago. The 15-game winning streak is the second most in team history, the record being 19 straight.
The players are not paid. The play for the fun of the game.
The players range in age from 18 to 41. They come from a one- to two-hour radius of Lima. They range from police officers to semi truck drivers and prison guards to teachers. Around 10 are local players, including Biggie Thompson (Lima Senior), Tyler Bly (Elida) and Jason Bott (Perry). Others come from Toledo, Dayton, Mansfield, Fremont, Fort Wayne and Columbus. Big Dale at 6-foot-7, 450 pounds is the biggest player.
Players have six combinations of uniforms based on three jerseys and two pairs of pants. Players take care of their own wash.
Practices are held three to four hours before a game. They use U-Tube to watch films during the week.
The games are geared to be "family friendly." If a player is called for a personal foul, he sits out for a quarter. The players' children are typically the cheerleaders. A game may feature side entertainment like a petting zoon.
Lima competes in the Heartland League and has had much success. The team has been around for 11 years, posting a 116-32-1 record. It won the national championship last year, traveling to Florida to play in a tournament.
The players use a church bus for away games and it's driven by their kicker. They called it the "Jesus Bus." The church's only requirement is to make sure the bus is clean for Sunday.
The meeting was called to order by Vice President Jim Osmon.
Members having guest were Bruce Opperman (Andy Young) and Larry Webb (Juan Manuel Chavez).
Tre Waldren of Berlin, Wisc., was a visiting Rotarian.
Michael Ayers presented a slide show of the trip he and his family had with Viri Roldan, who is here on the Rotary Youth Exchange.
Attendance for the previous meeting was 77.