Team Showtime ready for biggest show yet

Amari Jones, 12, pulls in a pass in the 12U division during Team Showtime practice at the Ocala Regional Sportsplex in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Four teams from the local Team Showtime are headed to the 7v7 Nationals in Tampa on Saturday to compete with youth football teams from across the nation. Former Dunnellon football player, Terrence Brooks, who is currently an NFL football player, owns the team. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted May 7, 2021 | By Ainslie Lee, ainslie@ocalagazette.com

When the lights come on and the curtain opens on the biggest stage, Team Showtime will be ready.

The 7-on-7 Ocala-area youth football league started three years ago. And ever since, like the sport itself, Team Showtime has emerged as a giant.

The non-contact football league places an emphasis on specialty players such as quarterbacks, receivers, linebackers and defensive backs. The game is played on a 40-yard field and consists only of passing.

“Our first goal is to get the kids as much exposure as possible,” said Maurice Jones, coach of Team Showtime’s 12U team. “We want to get every kid on our team to college. Get their name out there as early as possible. 7-on-7 is nationwide now, so that’s our first goal.”

Jones, who coached youth tackle football with the Dunnellon Tigers Pop Warner organization for years, says that since tackle football hinges more on the run game, 7-on-7 provides budding quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs a great opportunity to polish their skills.

“Our second goal is to get our kids to compete… skill players, at a high level, you know, more than what they can do in tackle,” Jones said.

Terrence Brooks, a former Dunnellon standout and current safety for the Houston Texans, owns the Team Showtime organization, which currently has three divisions: 12U, 14U and 15U.

And of those divisions, Team Showtime 12U has been the most successful.

According to Jones, Team Showtime’s division for 12-year-olds has played in six tournaments all over Florida and one in Atlanta. The team has brought home three tournament crowns and was the runner-up in another.

But no tournament will be like the one the team is slated to compete in this weekend.

On Friday night, Team Showtime 12U heads to Tampa as they prepare to play in the Battle Royale 2021 National Championships.

Twenty-five 12U teams are registered to compete over the weekend, according to the tournament’s schedule.

“We barely lose any games,” Jones said. “We’re pretty good. We’re probably one of the favorites at this tournament. We’re expecting to win it. I always tell people it’s championship or bust with this group right here.”

According to Jones, the team is pretty deep at all positions, but Amari Jones, LJ Woods and Amani Armstrong emerge as standouts.

LJ Woods acts as the team’s Swiss Army knife and can lineup at quarterback, wide receiver or defensive back.

For him, staying focused leading up to the championships will be the key to the team’s success.

“We’ve just gotta stay serious,” LJ Woods said. “Just stay together as a team and work hard.”

Team Showtime will play four games on Saturday, with a chance to play four more on Sunday. And in the Florida heat, staying fresh can be a challenge.

But Amani Armstrong, who plays receiver and linebacker, says the team is ready.

“We’ve gotta hydrate early,” Armstrong said. “And I’m pretty sure that we can make it pretty far. I don’t have a doubt. I don’t have doubts this weekend.”

Team Showtime will play at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday. The following day, the team will have an opportunity to compete for a national championship, which, if won, comes with a trophy and championship rings.

“We just ready to go to Tampa and bring a trophy back home to our hometown,” Amari Jones said.