THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 12, 1995 TAG: 9507110113
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
AT FIRST GLANCE, the Wednesday afternoon action on the Ocean Lakes High football field appears to be little more than neighborhood touch football.
It is far more serious than that.
The Beach District's 7-on-7 passing league is designed to reap several benefits, but only one goal closely resembles anything in sandlot play.
``This is fun,'' Cox coach Gene Beck said, watching the action from the sidelines.
``The kids have a blast with this,'' chimed in Ocean Lakes coach Jim Prince.
In the second year of the program, however, the coaches are hoping the designed gains will be met.
The league is about improving and honing the skills of quarterbacks and receivers. While most summer football preparation is limited to weight lifting and maybe a little running, the passing league works on the more technical aspects of the game.
The quarterbacks can work on their touch - get to know potential receivers better, while the receivers get familiar with patterns and the tendencies of their quarterbacks.
The passers and receivers, said one quarterback, form a better bond through this kind of summer work.
``We're definitely bonding,'' said rising Ocean Lakes sophomore Walter Amos, one of the most promising underclassmen in the Beach District. ``We go from weight lifting right to here. We've even got a couple of linemen out over there on the sidelines just watching and cheering us on.
``This is definitely the kind of thing that helps us. All I know is, the other teams had better be watching us, because we're going to be ready for next year.''
Ah yes, the competitive spirit. At the passing league, the rivalries and tensions are just as high as on fall Friday nights. These youngsters have come to play football - even if it is one-hand touch with no rushing and no pads.
During a game between Green Run and First Colonial - featuring players from two of the biggest rivals in the history of Beach play - the trash talking and shoulder bumping got started after Green Run intercepted a Patriots' pass. The fact that both teams are probable title contenders this fall was nothing but gas on the fire.
But Prince - always in charge of the competition - quickly defused the heat and got players' minds back on the task at hand.
``Save it for the fall,'' Prince shouted, warning that any more such outbursts would end up with both teams packing for home.
But such incidents are few and far between, as the players seem to be concentrating on their plays and having a little fun.
In the format, teams take possession by the flip of a coin and start at the opponent's 45-yard line - with two games going on at once at opposite ends of the field. Teams must gain 15 yards in four downs to keep moving the ball. Quarterbacks have four seconds to throw to one of their six receivers. The play is stopped at the point where a defensive player gets one hand on the receiver. Games last about 15 minutes.
No statistics or records are kept, but there will be a championship tournament Aug. 2. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
ABOVE: Walter Amos, a rising sophomore quarterback at Ocean Lakes
High, is seen as one of the most promising underclassmen in the
Beach District. ``We're definitely bonding,'' said Amos of his work
with the receivers.
LEFT: Gene Beck and daughter Alyssa direct the action. Beck, then
head coach at Cox, is now an assistant at Tallwood.
Green Run receiver Plaxico Burress, left, has a pass deflected away
by First Colonial's Eugene Benjamin. The game became contentious.
by CNB