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High School football playoffs begin this weekend, and the road to the state championship leads to Orlando!
The FHSAA Football Finals will be held right here in Central Florida at the Florida Citrus Bowl. The four-day event consists of eight state championship games with two games played on Friday and two games played on Saturday of both weekends. The dates for the 2011 Football Finals are Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17.
More than a few teams in Seminole County, including Lake Mary Preparatory, Oviedo, Lake Mary, and Lake Brantley will compete in the playoffs with the chance to advance to the State Championship. Click HERE for the FHSAA playoff brackets and check out your team's Road to Orlando.
Hopefully your favorite team will make it, but even if they don't you will not want to miss the best high school football in the nation. Many of the players that compete in the FHSAA Football Finals will surely go on to be the next stars in the NCAA and even the NFL. General admission tickets are $12, and for the first time ever you will have the ability to purchase a reserved seat. Skip the lines and guarantee yourself a seat close to all the action for only $17. Click HERE to purchase your tickets today.
For more information about the FHSAA Football Finals, visit our website at www.roadtoorlando.org or follow us on our new Road to Orlando facebook page. | |
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A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM BRENT | |
TEAM SEMNINOLE is thankful for all of the support given to make our community a great place for sports!
Seminole County is a championship destination and hopefully 2012 will serve as a banner year! TEAM SEMINOLE has recently been successful in attracting several new events for the county, which when added to our returning roster of events, will make for an exciting year. On tap at the turn of the year are several soccer tournaments including Score at the Shore and the United Soccer Cup, among other events currently on the books. As always, we continue our diligent work on additional business development opportunities for Seminole County, which are described in more detail below.
Speaking of Score at the Shore, their office recently conducted a meeting to educate our hotels on the process teams must follow in order to reserve rooms for the February soccer tournament. Hotels were able to gain insight on what to look for when teams call, how to report reservations, and how the process is tracked through the Score's reservations website. The hotels should find that this system will streamline the team booking process, while allowing us to track where teams and fans are staying for the tournament.
Switching gears, the Sports Commission would like to invite you to participate in the First Annual Families in Transition (FIT) Charity Golf Tournament at Mayfair Country Club on Friday November 18, 2011! The purpose of this memorable event is to raise money and awareness for the Seminole County Public Schools Families in Transition Program which provides needed services to over 1,700 homeless children and family members throughout Seminole County. For more information, or to sign up, please visit http://www.fitcharitygolf.org/.
As always, please do not hesitate to call should you have any questions and we look forward to partnering with TEAM SEMINOLE to generate more great sports activity in Seminole County. |
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Best Regards,
Brent Nelson
Interim Executive Director
Central Florida Sports Commission |
ECONOMIC IMPACT  |
Year to Date (through September of 2011) Hotel Room Nights: 6,078 Tax Recovery: $74,562.07 Economic Impact: $7,920,887.75 Number of Participants: 4,429 Number of Spectators: 4,128 Number of Events: 8 |
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IN THE PIPELINE |
The Sports Commission recently traveled to Tampa to meet with staff from USA Ultimate to discuss our recent bid submission to host the USAU High School Regional Championships in Seminole County. This potential event would be staged at Sylvan Lake Park, with 32 teams from across the Southeast expected to be in attendance. A decision is forthcoming by USA Ultimate in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. In addition, the CFSC will be sending staff to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention in Kansas City, MO in January. This convention will provide our office the opportunity to network with soccer coaches, event organizers and others in attendance for the purpose of showcasing Seminole County is a preferred destination for soccer events and team trainings. More information on the outcome of our trip will be shared in future TDC reports. |
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| | WINS & LOSSES |
(As of October, 2011)
Formal Bids Submitted: 5
Total Bids Won: 3
Total Bids Lost: 2
In other news, the Sports Commission and Seminole County CVB are looking into bidding for the United States Australian Football League National Championships for 2012. The sport is similar to rugby but the field is laid out much differently. We are gathering more information on the sport and determining whether or not it is a good fit for the facilities. We will update the status of the process in the coming months.
Staying on the business development front, the Sports Commission and Seminole County CVB recently were informed that our bid to host the 2013 ASA Girls 18U Gold National Championship was unsuccessful. Our proposed venues to host the tournament were the Seminole County Softball Complex and Merrill Park. While not successful, we will continue to work closely with ASA to bid on future regional and national tournaments for venues within Seminole County. |
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| | UPCOMING EVENTS | |
2nd Annual Turkey Day 5K Family Fun Run
Ft. Mellon Park, Sanford (at the waterfront)
November 24, 2011
Website
Wekiva Island River Clean up
Wekiva Island
November 26, 2011
Website
ECNL Winter Showcase
Sylvan Lake Park, Seminole Soccer Complex, Central Winds Park
December 28-30, 2011 Website |
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| COMMUNITY PROFILE | |
Devon Dwyer is an honor student with a 3.7 grade point average and a team captain. The senior holds Oviedo's school record for tackles in a single game with 29 and leads the Lions with 124 on the year.
He's been a consistent defensive force at middle linebacker for the Lions all season and has caught the attention of a few college football programs; however, he has yet to receive a single scholarship offer to play football.
Not one.
"I'm talking to a lot of the high academic schools like West Point and Colgate," Dwyer said. "[The recruiting process] has been picking up a lot more towards the end of the season. But no offers yet."
Dwyer has flown under the radar throughout his football career, partly because of constantly moving (he's lived in six different states), changing schools (he previously attended Lake Howell) and receiving limited playing time at Oviedo.
Dwyer's senior season, his first chance at stardom for the Lions, has not been a disappointment. The senior was named captain of defense and constantly has been improving his play throughout his breakout year.
To read the entire article click HERE.
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