Cane Steve
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Thought this was an interesting read. Goes to show how big this 7on7 thing has gotten.
http://www.fuelrecruiting.com/fire-express-battle-for-best-in-south-florida
http://www.fuelrecruiting.com/fire-express-battle-for-best-in-south-florida
Fire, Express Battle for Best in South Florida
Corey Long, FUEL Recruiting| July 10, 2013| Florida, News
BRADENTON, Fla. – As the clock winded down on the South Florida Express Elite’s quarterfinal victory over the Florida Fire at the IMG 7v7 national championships the victorious Elite team wanted to send a final salvo to their rivals.
After Travis Rudolph scored his third touchdown of the game and the 47-14 thrashing was complete, members of Elite team mocked the Fire’s “bomb” celebration as one player threw the football in the air and when it touched the turf the team fell in unison as if a bomb exploded.
It was a little payback for the Fire doing it to the Express in the regional championships two months earlier.
And although the Express got the last laugh in the back-and-forth feud with the Fire, the battles will continue in 2014 and for the near future.
Brett Goetz is the man in charge of the South Florida Express program. In many ways he’s one of the pioneers behind the major growth of 7-on-7 football in the country. Under Goetz’s leadership the Express have become the equivalent of the New York Yankees of the 7-on-7 circuit.
The players are equipped with Under Armour warm up apparel and for this tournament Goetz had enlisted the assistance of trainers from the Fast Twitch Performance Center out of Miami. Other programs snicker at the amenities provided to the Express but don’t expect Goetz to notice it.
“We are always trying to get better and trying to provide the best for our athletes,” Goetz said. “That’s how the Under Armour thing came about and why we have Fast Twitch with us here. I’m not going to apologize for wanting my guys to have the best things that are available. I’m very proud of the Express being a top-notch program.”
Despite circling the same fertile talent ground of Miami-Dade and Broward County the Express and the Fire couldn’t be much different.
Whereas Goetz has worked to gain sponsorships for the Express, the man behind the Fire, Dennis Marroquin likes his group to be the complete opposite. He sums it up as come as you are and take what you want.
“Our guys are perceived as the underdogs but that’s because we don’t want anything to be given to us,” Marroquin said. “We are going to scrap and fight for everything we get. I have a lot of respect for those guys though. They are really good as you can see.”
The Express brought a star-studded team to Bradenton last month. From Elite 11 champion Sean White to top-tier wide receivers Ermon Lane and Travis Rudolph to the great running back Sony Michel, there was no doubt this team was built to win.
The Fire, which finished second in regionals, lost a couple of guys after regionals but brought a quality team with top recruits like Louisville commitment Michael Johnson and top 2015 prospect Shawn Becker-Burgess. But Marroquin says one of the reasons the Fire has been successful is because his guys are “hungry.”
“In reality we have a lot of guys without offers or with maybe one or two offers because we want guys that need to use this outlet to gain exposure,” Marroquin said. “And that’s a big reason why I love when we face the Express in a tournament.
“They have all these big names that people are writing about so when my guys go against them and play them hard it works out for our guys in gaining more attention in the recruiting world.”
Ironically the Fire program came from the success of the South Florida Express.
In 2011, Goetz held a South Florida Express tryout at Hallandale High School and the response was more than he could have imagined. Over 200 prospects showed up and it was like a who’s who of top Miami-Dade and Broward County prospects like Tracy Howard, Malcolm Lewis, Ricardo Lewis and Deon Bush.
“That was really unexpected,” Goetz said. “I thought we’d have 75-80 kids. I would have never expected 250 or whatever showed up.”
Out of the ground Goetz and his group of coaches chose 50 players from the workouts and cut the list again from there. Many of the players that didn’t make the first cut were hoping to find their way into other 7-on-7 groups and that’s where Marroquin stepped in.
“I was talking with Jimmy Smith, who is now a recruiting writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and he wanted to put together a team,” Marroquin explained. “I told him I could win with whatever team he gave me. So we chose a lot of kids that tried out for the Express and didn’t make it. And we won.”
The Fire won the Badger Sports national tournament in the summer of 2011 and the rivalry began. Much of the back-and-forth barbs are good natured ribbings on social media. Marroquin and Goetz try to stay above the fray.
“I like Dennis, I think he’s a good guy and he’s never been anything but respectful to me,” Goetz said. “We’re both competitive guys. I know I’m super competitive. I hate losing, heck I hate when we play bad and we’re winning. I’m sure he’s the same way.
“As for the kids, most of them have known each other for a long time, probably from youth ball. And they want those bragging rights.”
And although the Fire got the best of the Express at the AIRO Regional tournament in Orlando, the Express defeated the Fire twice to win the IMG Southeast Regional and got them again in the national tournament.
“They got the final laugh but we’ll be back,” Marroquin said. “The Fire program is growing and we had like 100-plus kids for tryouts this year. The former Fire kids are starting to make noise in college football and we’re going to continue to grow.
“The whole Express-Fire thing is great for South Florida really. There is so much talent down there that you could have five or six more teams. Next year there will probably be a new group so we have to keep growing.”
The Express has been around a little longer and Goetz is not seeing his former guys, like quarterback Geno Smith, embark on NFL careers.
“It’s real cool to hear the name of a former Express guy being called in the NFL Draft,” Goetz added. “It’s been such a fun ride and we’ve built a strong base and a strong fraternity. I couldn’t be prouder of those guys and the success they’ve had.”
The Fire would finish fourth at the national championships, which Marroquin was happy with considering the team was missing some key talent. The Express, despite being huge favorites, finished second, runner up to Team Tampa, who won their second straight championship.
Goetz and Marroquin will soon go back to their other jobs. Goetz works in the financial field and spends most of his spare time with his wife and daughter. Marroquin is a teacher in Miami-Dade County and an assistant coach at Hialeah.
All the while both men will likely be figuring out ways to gain the advantage in the 7-on-7 circuit in 2014.
“This is fun, this is great competition,” Marroquin added. “I think the Express makes us work hard to get better and I’m pretty sure we motivate them as well. It’s like the battle to be the best in South Florida and in my world if you are the best in South Florida you are the best anywhere.”
