9 local 7th-graders to represent eastern Idaho at national FBU tournament

EASTERN IDAHO — A handful of local middle-school football players have been traveling to and from Boise every weekend for the last two months, all in preparation for a massive football tournament later this month on the other side of the country.

Team Idaho will compete in the Football University (FBU) National Championship in Naples, Fla., Dec. 18 to 22. And nine members of that team will represent not just Idaho, but eastern Idaho, according to Chasity Snowden, whose son, Titian, is among the nine-player eastern Idaho contingent.

Snowden described the tryout process, saying that she and the other eastern Idaho parents were concerned their boys would not be able to separate themselves from a pack of primarily Boise-area athletes. But by the end of the tryouts, those concerns were eased, as their nine kids spent the entire tryouts “standing out,” she said.

“They take this seriously — these kids do. They’re so committed,” Snowden said.

FBU is “the nation’s leader in football camps, events and showcases,” according to their website. Among the camps and showcases they host is the FBU National Championship.

Team Idaho, which includes the eastern nine, along with players from the Twin Falls area, northern Idaho and primarily the Boise area, has been practicing for two weeks in Boise.

And while some of the local families have been able to make the weekly trip, some of the boys have been carpooling with Duane Rawlings, an SIYFL board member and Team Idaho coach. Rawlings, Snowden said, rents a car every weekend allowing him enough room to assist in transporting any of the boys in need of a ride.

In addition to the weekly practices, several of the boys, including Titian, do additional training. Titian, Snowden explained, participates in strength and agility training, as well as defensive line training, three times a week. In his free time, he watches YouTube videos of football players, including some that he will face at the FBU National Championship, looking for areas where he can improve his own play.

“He is very, very serious about this, and he’s kind of even taken a leadership role as well … it’s been really cool to see,” Snowden said.

And when he isn’t working on his skills, Titian, along with his teammates, is working toward raising money to pay for the team’s big trip.

Team Idaho has done several fundraisers, including a raffle ticket sale.

Raffle tickets can be purchased at this Venmo:

Donations to the fundraising efforts can be made at the same Venmo.

For more information about the raffle and the prizes available, visit Chasity’s post in the East Idaho News – Sports Facebook group — here.

Idahoans do not have to travel to Florida to see Team Idaho take on the competition. The FBU National Championship, Dec. 18-22, will be live-streamed at the FBU website — here.