No ‘bench warming’ positions available
By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
PASCO COUNTY — While high school sports are mainly about who wins and loses, i9 Sports is more about having fun and learning about sportsmanship.
“I really like the focus being on the kids learning to work together to get better,” said Jimmy Surin, onsite coordinator of i9 Sports in Pasco County. “It is also very family friendly to participate in the league because all the games are on the weekend or at night during the week, so it is easy for parents to take their kids to the games.”
Another main element of the league is the amount of playing time for each kid.
“We don’t have any benchwarmers here in i9 Sports,” said Jimmy Barbarise, league director in Pasco. “Everyone gets to play no matter what. There are no tryouts or drafts. We don’t have ringers out there while the average kid sits and watches. You can’t get better while sitting on the bench, so we make sure everyone plays.”
Barbarise received a degree in physical education from Western Governs University.
“I just love making a difference in kids’ lives,” Barbarise said. “I think i9 does that as well as any organization.”
Everyone playing is one of the core principles of i9 Sports, but experienced coaches do not need much encouragement to make it happen.
“There is a rule that each kid has to be in a game for at least one play 10 times ,” said Angel Santiago, flag football coach for more than three years. “You get a chart to write down who has played and the newer coaches usually have to use it to make sure, but I don’t even have to think about it any more. I split my team into two groups that go in every other drive, so my system makes sure all the kids play.”
Santiago’s three kids — Justin, Joshua and Nick— all play flag football and the family currently lives in Wesley Chapel.
The league is a national organization in all 50 states with more than 100,000 children participating according to the national organization. The name comes from the nine principles the league was founded — all of which start with the letter I.
“Those principles best symbolize the core values of the league,” Barbarise said. “It’s all about sportsmanship and having a good time.”
Barbarise’s kids — Christina, Marisa and Jimmy — all play flag football in the league.
“It’s all about flag football in my family,” Barbarise said. “They all play different positions, so the don’t have to split playing time with each other. Christina (14) is a quarterback, Marisa (13) is a center and my son Jimmy (12) is a linebacker.”
Surin’s son, Alex, plays flag football and basketball, while his daughter, Alexis, plays soccer in i9 Sports.
“It is great because I get to coach Alex (8) in basketball and Alexis (5) in soccer,” Surin said. “I grew up in New York City in Manhattan, so there weren’t a lot of youth leagues for me to play in. Here there are great fields for the kids.”
The national organization, which started in 2003, has flag football, soccer, basketball and cheerleading teams in Pasco. There are three seasons a year, each seven weeks long, for everything but cheerleading, which has just one season in the fall.
There are two divisions, Central Pasco and West Pasco, in i9 Sports. There are several teams with kids from both Pasco and Hillsborough County Lutz and Odessa, Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel, and teams from Zephyrhills and Dade City are also available most seasons.
The youth organization also as a Hillsborough and Pinellas County league. For more information on i9 Sports of Hillsborough and Pinellas, call Alex Miranda or Jason Arnold at (813) 805-8742.
The noncompetitive league has four age-groups: one for kids 4 to 6-years-old, one for 7 to 9, one for 9 to 11 and one for 12 to 15.
“Sometimes the senior division gets a little more competitive and we need to remind them that we are all here to have fun,” Barbarise said.
Pasco i9 currently has registration for its next season. For more information on the Pasco County league, call Barbarise at (813) 532-1507, or visit www.i9sports.com.
i9 Sports league registration deadlines for Pasco County
- Soccer Feb. 15
- Basketball March 15
- Flag football March 31
- i9 Sports nine principles
- Imaginative
- Innovative
- Interactive
- Integrity-driven
- Impassioned
- Inspirational
- Instructional
- Insightful
- Inclusive
