2012

North Shore Patriots Headed Back to Nationals

For the second straight year, coaches Danny Batista and Jonathan Riviera are taking the 9- to 11-year-old Patriots of the North Shore Flag Football League back to the nationals. The event will be held in Florida once again, but this year it will be at Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale instead of Disney World.
This will be nothing new for Noah Neville of Lynn and Jake Gustin and Cameron Loizides of Peabody, who know just what to expect, having gone a year ago. The NFL will pay the airfare and hotel for the eight-member squad. The nationals begin on Thursday, Jan. 12, and end on Sunday, Jan. 15.
"The team is stronger this time, and those three returning players make a big difference," Batista said. "They are experienced and determined to come back home with the championship or at least have a great outing.

"I expect all eight boys to play big roles for us. I'm not sure what the organizers of the event have planned, but it was a great time last year. The kids are all very excited and looking forward to it. I know there is a theme park in the area, so we may spend some time there."

The Patriots qualified by winning the Northeast Regional event in New Canaan, Conn., in October. And they won all their games in impressive fashion. Last month, they took part in the Buddy Bowl in Millis and once again won all their games, going up against teams a level up in the 12-14 age class.

"They have been amazing," Batista said. "That last event is all for charity, so we wanted to be part of it, and it was also a great tuneup for nationals. Having gone through it last year will help me coach them. We now know what to expect, and our three returnees can help prepare the other boys. I think the first time was very intimidating, and the boys were more into going to Disney than the games themselves. But now we are better prepared."

Other members of the squad are Kevin Durant (Lynn), Devon Foster (Lynn), Jalen Echevarria (Peabody), Glenn Perez (Salem) and Mathieu Severence (Peabody). NSFFL founder Austin Bradshaw is also going.

"It's so exciting for both the players and coaches," Bradshaw said. "The Patriots are planning to send the kids a goody bag along with letters of congratulations."