POWHATAN, Va. -- For more than a decade, the Flatrock Warriors Football Association in Powhatan has stored some of its outdoor equipment at War Memorial Field. This year they moved to another location for practice, but when association officials went to pick up their practice sleds last week, the equipment -- valued at about $10,000 - was gone. Now nearly a 100 kids are without the practice materials they need to develop football fundamentals.
"The sleds were one of the main things we were really, really mad about," 11 year-old running back and middle linebacker RJ said.
Children age five to 14 play football in the Flatrock Warriors organization. In addition to the sleds, the organization also reported a chute and rope course missing.
"It was there one day and it was gone the next," Flatrock Football Association president Joshua Cabaniss said. "If I can't teach kids the proper technique without proper equipment I run the risk of them being injured on the field and I can't have that as a youth coach."
Flatrock officials made calls to police, their league and even spread the word about the missing equipment on Facebook.
"The word is getting out there and that's all we can hope for at this point. If anybody has seen anything. Even if they saw it riding on a truck down the side of the road," Flatrock secretary Jennifer Cabaniss said.
While the young football players are disappointed, they're not letting it ruin their time on the field.
"We might not have all the equipment, but we still have our wonderful coaches that will be able to guide us through it," 10-year-old quarterback Conner said.
The team is trying to raise money to buy new equipment before the start of the season. If you anyone would like to help, contact them on their website or on Facebook. The league also established a GoFundMe account to help purchase new equipment.
