SARASOTA RINGLING REDSKINS ON A COMEBACK
BY JESSIKA WARD
Aaron Bellamy shown above has played and coached at the Sarasota Ringling Redskins, now he is the President.
A familiar name with a new face, The Sarasota Ringling Redskins, will make a comeback this football season under new leadership.
Aaron Bellamy is the Residential Manager of the YMCA Youth Shelter and he is the CEO of a domestic violence and healthy relationship program— now adding President of the Sarasota Ringling Redskins to his repertoire.
“The plans are to get the league up and running to continue to give kids good memories, help them build relationships that will be lifelong relationships, and strengthen our community by using athletics to do so,” said Bellamy. The Sarasota Ringling Redskins has been in existence since 1960. Sarasota locals and natives who participated in the program in the past remember a time when Saturdays were spent at the “Redskins Field.” The Sarasota Ringling Redskins was a league that housed hundreds of athletes ages 6-14 and over 30 football and cheer teams.
Now, many people who live in Sarasota and have children playing youth football spend their Saturdays traveling with their kids to watch them play football because there are so many football leagues and youth football is different than it was in the past.
Bellamy and the Ringling Redskins are growing with today’s times. The Ringling Redskins is no longer a league, but a traveling organization with 7 teams. “I think with every organization as time goes on things change. The format of what Sarasota was before was a lot different. It was actually only one game in town. As the city grows everything grows,” said Bellamy.
The organization is playing in a league called American Youth Football (& Cheer), AYF, an international conference league and organization. “It’s like being in a conference. Our kids will have the opportunity to represent our team and our town in places like Ohio,” said Bellamy.
“It’s almost the same as high school football. In high school football you really only have two or three teams— JV, Varsity, and maybe a freshman team,” said Kevin Jakub, the Vice President of the Sarasota Ringling Redskins’ Board of Directors. “They play different places and travel as a team. That’s what wedo,butwehavea14 U, 13-year-old, 12-yearold, 10-year-old, 8-yearold, Pee-Wee, and flag.” Jakub says he has noticed a difference since the organization brought on a new Board of Directors, saying he feels the organization has gained confidence in the community.
“Community leaders and corporate sponsors have really stepped up,” said Jakub. “They were always willing to help, but I think they didn’t see a reason to invest because no one had asked for help.” “We have a better fit for most kids because we have our own field, we have all new equipment now. We are in the process of redoing all the buildings,” said Bellamy.
Lowes, Sarasota County, Southern Steer, Singleton Roofing and Riddell are amongst the corporate sponsors for the 2019 season. Bellamy looks forward to a new season, being a part of an organization, he once participated in as a kid. “I get to put back into the community that I grew up in. It gives me an opportunity to actually go one step further. I know what this league is capable of,” said Bellamy.
The organization’s registration period will end September 15, 2019 after its first game on September 7th. For more information, visit sarasotaringlingredskins.com
