Tag Archive for: #gatecityseahawks

TownTalk: Gate City Seahawks Earn Way to East Wake Super Bowl

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The Seahawks are in the Super Bowl!

No, not those Seahawks. And not that Super Bowl.

It’s our own local Seahawks team – the 8U Gate City Seahawks with the Henderson-Vance Recreation & Parks Dept. – who will travel to Benson on Saturday, Nov. 15 to face the Strong Center Cardinals of Fuquay-Varina in the East Wake Football League Super Bowl.

And for Michael Faulkner, the 8U head coach, Saturday’s game marks the culmination of months of practice and a great 9-1 season.

The championship game begins at 1 p.m. at West Johnston High School in Benson, but there’s a flag game at 10 a.m., followed by an awards ceremony, then a “fifth quarter” game at 12:30 p.m.

Faulkner – “Coach Mike” to his players – said this team is not only talented, but also hard-working.

“Saturday is only a display of what you do all week,” Faulkner said he reminds the players. They spend about an hour playing a game during the regular season,  but put in a couple of hours at practice.

He said he reminds them that if they train hard, they get great results.

And, “if you don’t like something, put in the work to change it.”

Coach Mike said he played rec ball when he was a kid, but all the games were local. This 8U team travels other counties for conference play – Johnston, Wake, Durham and Granville, just to name a few.

“Not only are they displaying that we’re disciplined and hard-working,” Faulkner said. The Seahawks are proving that they’re a team that can compete against other U8 teams in what he called a “very competitive” league.

The team’s only loss this season was to a Durham team, and Saturday’s opponent is 10-0.

He said he tells the team, “We celebrate wins and we learn from losses.”

For Coach Mike, it’s important that he teach the kids about handling adversity and maintaining their composure – on and off the football field.

“I’m working hands-on with the kids every day,” he said. “I see a lot of will, determination –  they’re hard working. I like to teach kids and set goals and achievements in life so you have something to work towards.”

Some of these 8-year-old Seahawks will be tomorrow’s players at the middle school, or even go on to play JV or varsity at the high school level.

“Henderson is a special place with a special group of kids, very talented,” Faulkner said. When they put their minds to what they want to do, there’s nothing they can’t achieve.

Good luck to the Gate City Seahawks on Saturday!

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The Local Skinny! Seahawks Night at Vance County Football Game

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The Gate City Seahawks took the field Friday night to be recognized during Seahawks Night at Viper Stadium, but also as future Jaguars and Vipers, and to get an idea of what it’s like to play under the Friday Night lights.

Henderson Vance Recreation and Parks Director Kendrick Vann said the young people are learning what it’s like to be part of a team and all the positive aspects of collaboration, teamwork and partnerships.

It’s been seven years since the local youth league teams have been part of a competitive league, and Vann told WIZS’s Scout Hughes and David “Doc” Ayscue that from where he sits, “good things are happening in football” in Vance County.

The youth league teams are coed, Vann said, and teams vary by age group – a few dozen kids are in flag football, for ages 4-6. And the teams for older youth are both 7-0 this season.

The Seahawks play home games at Vance County Middle School, but travel to Durham, Clayton, Wendell, Franklinton and elsewhere for contests.

But it’s not just about the games, Vann said. There’s an emphasis on doing service projects in the community, including participating in the citywide cleanup efforts in Henderson and making sure that the kids “dress for success” when banquet time rolls around.

Vann said the team walks out on the field together and exercises together. “We try to do a good job to form a program,” he said.

The coaching staffs at the middle school and the high school also are developing partnerships with the Seahawks – after all, they are the future Jaguars and the future Vipers.

“Vance County has a lot of great athletes,” Vann said. “There is true talent here in Vance County,” he said.

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