Hornets to compete in NFL 7-on-7 tournament

By: Ed Weaver  /  June 22, 2014

Members of the 2014 Wellsboro football team won the regional NFL HSPD 7-on-7 tournament in Lyons, NY on Saturday to advance to the national tournament in Indianapolis.

The Hornets competed at Mansfield University on May 31 - June 1 and won the tournament against local area teams to qualify for regionals that took place on Saturday. At this event, the Hornets won all three games in the single elimination tournament against the likes of Batavia, Lyons, Syracuse, and Buffalo in double overtime.

Now the Hornets will fly to Indianapolis in July to compete on the national stage representing the Buffalo Bills.

WellsboroFootball.com would like to congratulate the Hornets on this achievement and wish them luck in Indy.

About the NFL High School Player Development Program

The High School Player Development is part of the National Football League's Football Operations Department headed by Executive Vice President Ray Anderson. The NFL realizes that teaching young people has to be more than just football.

The high school player development program aims to develop productive members of society as well as good football players. We use the newest techniques and instruction from a wide range of colleges and look to constantly improve the fundamentals of the game.

The program was started in 2001 to aid in the development of inner-city and underserved areas to develop their football programs and players. It began in New York City with four sites and has grown each year to its current size of over 150 sites nationwide.

The NFL does not believe that every student athlete that goes through the HSPD program will play in the NFL, but we know that we are making better firemen, better doctors, better parents and better overall citizens.

In 2009, the NFL and The National Guard teamed up through the HSPD program to build stronger communities that create opportunities for all individuals and families to succeed. We've continued to improve the program by adding safety components such as the CDC's "Heads Up" concussion safety component in order to increase awareness of concussions by players, coaches and parents as well as working to prevent them in the future.

The program is run out of the NFL League Office located in Manhattan, NY and is directed by Jerry Horowitz. The program has 12 Regional Directors that work with high school coaches and administrators to determine camp locations for communities in need of quality football instruction and character development guidance.