Take a look at any successful public high school football program in the state of Florida and you will find that the root of all that winning comes back to the area youth programs.
Venice, Lakeland, Booker T. Washington, Madison County, Baker, Vero Beach and the list goes on and on of public high school programs that stock their shelves each season come from the local youth program.
As south Florida is indeed so unique that there are so many leagues that play youth football, trying to harness ALL the talent is impossible, but that does not mean that you cannot have a pipeline that a majority of the young men gravitate toward.
At Cooper City – when this program has been successful, the local youth program is the reason why. For generations, Cooper City’s optimist club fed Cooper City High its players, with a mix of other mostly private programs.
The problem these days is that when current head coach Danny Carlisle was growing up, the youth program was pretty much everything and stacked with Cowboys. But over time things changed, and if you are going to win, you need a group of talented football players who buy in and get the younger student/athletes to do that same. It’s not novel and we are not naïve to know which programs get the star-rated prospects and those who need to work hard to compete.
Cooper City will continue to teach and coach with those who know how to do it the right way. While too much emphasis has been paid to be a part of a winning program, lost in all this is how much is learned, and at schools with coaching staffs that have something to prove, there is a good chance that college exposure cannot be too far behind.
CLASS OF 2022 HAS SOME PLAYMAKERS
The rising senior class (2022) has some really good talent – such as George Sklavenitis (TE/DL, 6-4, 235 – 3.7 GPA). This is a big-time young man who is going to bow up this spring.
What Sklavenitis has done this off-season is work – and grab the spotlight, which is exactly what this program needed all along.
But as good as he is, and this young man is solid, he cannot do it alone. Look for standouts such as Thomas Chronis (OLB, 5-11, 210 – 3.2 GPA), Aidan Koutsofios (LB, 6-3, 190 – 3.2 GPA), Nick Malec (OL/DL, 6-2, 205), Matheus Salomoni (OL/DL, 5-10, 240 – 3.3 GPA) and defensive back Ahsan Sanders (6-0, 175 – 3.0 GPA) to also step up.
After playing just five games a year ago because of the pandemic, the Cowboys believe that they can at least set down a path this coming season, with so many rising senior players who have the experience, and hopefully enough leadership to help Coach Carlisle and his staff.
Other prospects that figure to make a difference in 2021 are Dylan Schwam OL, 6-1, 205 – 4.6 GPA), Jeremiah Torres (WR/DB, 6-2, 175 – 2.6 GPA, 910 SAT) and receiver/defensive back Nico Valdes (5-10, 160 – 4.0 GPA)
CAN THE CLASS OF 2023 MAKE AN IMPACT
While we know that the Class of 2022 has some truly gifted athletes and prospects, the Class of 2023 (rising juniors) will also produce some football players that will help the Cowboys this year and into the future.
Athletic Anthony Diaz (5-7, 145) can play a number of positions and will be heavily counted on this coming season. Prospects such as Gabriel Martinez (DL, 6-0, 210 – 3.8 GPA), Michael Paan (FB/LB, 5-10, 185 – 3.0 GPA), Josh Pontigo (LB, 6-1, 200 – 3.1 GPA) and offensive lineman Jesse Rojas (5-10, 250 – 2.55 GPA) will be players that will also make a huge difference.
PHOTO COURTESY OF COOPER CITY FOOTBALL
For the past 51 years, we have spent time going from games to practices, camps, combines and 7-on-7 events. We will remain steadfast to promote all south Florida’s high school football prospects. Follow us on Facebook (Larry Blustein- SFHSports) and Twitter (@SFHSSports - @larryblustein). Contact us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..