Volney league fertile ground for talent

July 4, 2010 at 12:07a.m.

By JOE SCALZO

YOUNGSTOWN

About five years ago, as Anthony Floyd’s pro football career was winding down, he decided to stay in the game as a coach.

He started at the high school level before quickly realizing he had a different calling.

“I knew it was more important for me to work with younger kids,” said Floyd, a Chaney High graduate who played two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. “A lot of times, kids get to high school and they don’t know about the game.”

So, he went back to his roots and the fertile ground of the Volney Rogers Youth League.

“That’s where I made some lifelong friendships,” said Floyd, who played for the North Side Knights in the league. “It was more than playing a game. I learned about life and how to socially adapt to new people.

“It gave me an idea of what was hard work, how to play on a disciplined team, how to do things the proper way and do it as a team.”

The eight-team league, which begins play Monday, has been serving kids in the city for more than a half-century and has likely produced as much Division I and NFL talent as any league its size in the nation.

Over the past 15 years, it’s helped develop future NFL players such as Floyd, Brad Smith (Jets), Anthony Smith (Steelers, Jaguars), Keilen Dykes (Cardinals), Keiwan Ratliff (Bengals, Steelers), Anthony Mitchell (Bengals), Mike Echols (Titans), Maurice Clarett (Broncos), Antwan Floyd (Chargers), Daryll Clark (Broncos) and Justice Hairston (Colts, Patriots).

But while not every player goes on to football fame, every kid can be affected in a positive way, which is why Floyd feels so strongly about the need to protect one of the city’s gems.

One of the league’s emphases this summer is on increasing awareness of the league city-wide in hopes of getting more parent, fan and sponsor support. With 800 kids from ages 6-12 — and hundreds of cheerleaders, including Floyd’s daughter — there’s plenty of opportunities to make a positive impact on kids.

“A lot of people know football in this area is strong but there isn’t enough of a concentration on trying to make a foundation at a young age,” he said. “A lot of the kids who have played at Mooney and Ursuline the past few years have come out of this league and they wouldn’t have been able to win state championships without good foundations.”

Brad Smith, now a wide receiver for the Jets, played guard his first year in the league before switching to quarterback, where he starred at Chaney and Missouri before switching positions in the NFL. He was teammates with Anthony Smith at Volney.

“It’s a legendary league,” Brad Smith said. “It helped me with everything. When you start out as a little kid, you go through the drills and learn all the basics and as you get older, you get a lot of competition.

“I don’t know if there’s anywhere in the country that can rival that league.”

The league’s image took a hit four years ago when a 31-year-old man was fatally shot at one of the games, a shooting witnessed by at least 600 people at Eagle Heights Academy. Afterward, Floyd wrote a letter to The Vindicator emphasizing the league’s strong history while asking people not to let their image of the league get skewed by one bad incident.

League officials also want to make sure the league isn’t just about football. This summer, the players will take part in a community cleanup and volunteer at the Rescue Mission. They’ll also partner with the Youngstown library to get kids more involved with what the library can offer.

“It’s about more than football,” Floyd said. “A lot more.”

For more information about how to get involved, or be a sponsor, call 330-261-2738.