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Get Signed Up For Winter Season

Photo courtesy of SNL Photography

Flag football players in Summerfield's N Zone Sports program participate in a fall contest. Registration is now open for the winter season which will take place from Feb. 7 to Apr. 4. Photo courtesy of SNL Photography.

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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 now open for the winter season of N Zone Sports, which hosts its games at the 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 YOU GO

WHAT: N Zone Youth Sports

WHERE: Summerfield Community Center, 13011 Summerfield Blvd., Riverview

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

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

INFORMATION: Call (813) 938-4471 or visit www .nzonesports.com.

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

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