Wednesday, October 21, 2009

This weekend it becomes official, as Key West's newest football team, the semi-professional Bone Island Pirates, come to town.

After beginning light workouts some six months ago -- while team organizer, owner and head coach Angel Torres figured out the logistics of the team -- the Pirates will begin their first mandatory training camp on Saturday and Torres says this team will be all about bringing the Keys together.

"It's going really good," said Torres, who previously owned a semi-pro team in upstate New York that won two league titles. "I got this whole thing started in April with 10-12 guys and now I'm up to 25 (at workouts) and have signed contracts with 43 players."

As for the community aspect, Torres said he had to weigh the options when making the decision to create the Bone Island team, but now he believes it will certainly be a positive thing in three different ways.

"It is a small town, two miles by six miles, so I didn't know how many people were going to turn out for this or if I was even going to be able to suit a team," said Torres. "But ever since the word has gotten out it has grown tremendously. It's turning out really, really well and it's surprising me and my board members.

"If I break this down, you have a place for the kids to get off the streets on Saturday nights, a place for families to have a chance to go watch more football after the NFL season is over and then there are the guys that have left college and don't know where to go. They can come and play for me, so all in all, it's a win-win situation."

To go along with all the support he has already received, Torres says he plans to start a punt, pass and kick competition in the junior football league, not just on the NFL level, but also on the local level so each season a Keys' junior football team will be crowned champion. He also plans to give back 60 percent of ticket sales to the local schools, especially the Key West High programs since they have already opened their doors to the new team.

"My hats off to Key West High School," said Torres. "I applaud the high school for actually letting us use the practice field and letting us play at (Tommy Roberts Memorial Stadium). I have nothing to do with the school and for them to open the facilities to the team, that's what I want to give back to the school."

With five players currently on the roster from Marathon, Torres says he is expecting more players to travel down to join the team and welcomes any other athlete who wants to participate, especially since he can carry 60 players on a roster.

"That's nice because it's embracing the whole upper and lower Keys," said Torres. "There is no other semi-pro team until you get to Homestead. So between here and there, if I can embrace the entire Keys, do you realize the talent we will have on the team?"

With Saturday's first official mandatory training camp of the year on the horizon, the anticipation level is certainly starting to build. The camp, which will be held at Key West High's "Backyard," will begin at 1 p.m. for the players that have not signed contracts or paid the $39 registration fee and 2 p.m. for the players that have all the paperwork completed. All players need to have a helmet and pads to participate in the camp.

"This Saturday is going to be grueling, it's going to be hard," said Torres. "This stuff we've been doing so far was just to get ready to start training and get their breath back, but come Saturday, it's a whole different ballgame. I still want to get them slowly back into shape, but it's still training and they will have to go through a whole lot of work and will be sweating by the end of practice."

As for the team, the coach says he has a lot of speed already on the squad and it's just a matter of controlling it, but there is still a lot of room for everyone to grow.

"I'm not saying I'm the best coach in the world, but I can take an average guy, teach them the fundamentals, which is what it starts with, and help them grow into a better player," said Torres. "But now I have a lot of guys, I've heard, that have played football, went to college, played some ball there and now have come back home. Now they want to continue playing football and want to play for me at the semi-pro level, which is great."

Having been though the rigors of creating a previous team and winning championships, Torres certainly seems like he knows how to motive the players and get people involved. However, the coach still says without the community the team will not make it, and wants to give back everything he can in every way possible.

For more information on the team, visit boneislandpirates.com, which also contains a link to the Southeast Football League website, in which the Pirates will be participating.

"These guys are excited, they are loving it and I can't wait," Torres said. "I'm realistic and want to take it one day at a time. It's been great since April and the interest has grown. As far as what's ahead, I think it's going to be great and I know what I want to do and what I want to give back and I hope this town embraces the team."

J.W. Cooke is a Citizen sports writer. He can be reached at 305-292-7777, Ext. 261, or at jwcooke@keysnews.com.