November 8, 2024
Mount Dora High Unified Flag-Football Team Finishes 2nd At FHSAA State Championships
By Kyle Coppola
Mount Dora High Unified Flag-Football Team Finishes 2nd At FHSAA State Championships
Orlando, FL — The Mount Dora High School Special Olympics Unified Flag Football team celebrated a runner-up finish today at the FHSAA State Championships held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. In a fierce competition, Mount Dora clinched second place. While they didn’t win, the sportsmanship showed by these student-athletes are among the best we have ever seen. Constantly encouraging and helping players up off the ground. This is the love and joy of the Unified Special Olympics. In the end, every student-athlete was just happy to play and enjoyed every minute of it. East Ridge High School from Clermont ended up winning the championship.
(Congratulations to the Mount Dora High Unified Flag-Football team who finished as state runner-up.)
Also representing Lake County, Tavares High School proudly claimed third place, adding to a successful showing for Lake County. It was great to see the Lake County programs do well especially East Ridge High who put together an amazing year ultimately winning the championship.
(Tavares High School finished 3rd at the FHSAA Unified Flag-Football State Championship.)
Mount Dora’s coach, Randy Craft, expressed his pride in the team, emphasizing the joy and fulfillment that Unified Sports brings. “Seeing these kids having fun and being successful is such a joy to my heart. We are so proud of these kids as they continue to grow,” Craft shared.
(The Unified Special Olympics FHSAA Flag-Football State Runner-Up Trophy that Mount Dora High won today.)
The Unified Special Olympics program continues to flourish across Central Florida, with Lake County schools making a strong impact. The program fosters an inclusive environment that allows students to build relationships, strengthen confidence, and compete at a high level. As Unified Sports grows, so does the spirit of camaraderie and support among athletes and their communities.
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.
