November 8, 2024
East Ridge High School Unified Special Olympics Flag-Football Team Win State Championship
By Kyle Coppola
East Ridge High School Unified Special Olympics Flag-Football Team Win State Championship
CLERMONT, Fla. — In a fantastic debut season, the East Ridge High School Unified Flag Football team secured the Class 4 FHSAA State Championship in with a dominant performance. The team, led by head coach Sarah Klosterman and assistant coaches Joshua Moore and Angelica Gomez, capped off their season with a championship victory in Orlando today.
In a thrilling final showdown, East Ridge went on to edge out Chiles High School 12-6, clinching the ultimate title and marking an impressive start for the school’s inaugural Unified Flag Football team.
“We are getting rings!” said an elated Klosterman after the victory, expressing pride in her athletes’ achievements and hinting at plans to commemorate their historic win.
The championship squad featured athletes John Diaz, Jahn Diaz, Faith Fernandez, Jayleen Gordon, and Rayshaun Tubbs, who were supported by their partners Tyson Cartier, Evan Deannuntis, Charlie Garcia, and Mikayla Jones. Their teamwork and resilience were instrumental in capturing the school’s first Unified sports title.
This championship victory stands as a milestone not only for East Ridge High but also for the growth of Unified sports, which fosters inclusion by bringing athletes with and without intellectual disabilities together on the same field.
Also a shoutout to Mount Dora High finishing 2nd and Tavares High who finished in 3rd place.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
