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1st Winter Season Heats Up For Kids

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By JOHN CEBALLOS

jceballos@tampatrib.com

Published: December 31, 2008

RIVERVIEW - For parents looking to get their kids away from their video games and more involved in sports, there's a new game in town.

Registration is open for the winter season of N Zone Youth Sports, which hosts its games at Summerfield Community Center, 13011 Summerfield Blvd.

"Besides giving them a great place to play sports, we want to reward kids for values that sometimes get overlooked in team sports," said Tony Westbrock, who founded the league along with Rick Mercilliott. "Our goal is to teach them that displaying leadership and sportsmanship is more important than winning or losing a football game."

In addition to the players, Westbrock insists the parents must also show they can behave themselves.

"We make sure that parents are also accountable by having them sign a parent promise which says they'll act like a responsible adult," he said.

N Zone offers summer, spring and fall seasons for prospective cheerleaders, as well as soccer and flag football players.

The league began play last summer.

"It was a bit challenging getting off the ground in the summer because a lot of people don't want to necessarily be outside for too long in the heat, and we also had a lot of families who travel and weren't in town," Westbrock said.

He hopes to have between 250 to 300 kids registered for the upcoming winter season, which would be in line with the number of players for the summer and fall seasons.

Though N Zone only operates one league in Summerfield, Westbrock and Mercilliott - Summerfield and Apollo Beach residents, respectively - hope to expand their organization beyond Riverview.

"We saw a need for a program like this in South Shore," Westbrock said.

Westbrock's son, Shane, 10, and daughter, Keely, 8, are involved in N Zone, as are Mercilliott's children, Damon, 8, and Austin, 6.

"If we can continue to be successful here, we're definitely interested in moving to other areas in the state."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: N Zone Youth Sports
WHERE: Summerfield Community Center, 13011 Summerfield Blvd., Riverview

WHEN: Registration is open. Winter season will take place from Feb. 7 to April 4.

COST: $120. There is a $20 discount for Summerfield residents.

INFORMATION: (813) 938-4471 or go to www.nzonesports .com.

Reporter John Ceballos can be reached at (813) 865-1555.

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