Houston County Travel Football Team Prepares for Southeastern Tournament in Pensacola

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – There are plenty of opportunities in sports for smaller children, and of course, nothing beats high school sports.

But Sharnell Harris and her brother Curtis wanted to provide something for the kids that fall in between those two age groups. That’s how Sahara Sports, a youth travel organization, got its start.

“If a kid has somebody that believes in them, if they really think that somebody really, truly believes in them they’ll perform miracles,” Curtis says.

The organization started with just a basketball team and has grown to include two football teams and even a track team.  Last year, its 12 and Under football team represented middle Georgia in the Georgia Dome in a state competition.

“They had a good winning season,” says 14-year-old Kearis Jackson, a student at Fort Valley Middle School in Fort Valley who plays on this year’s 14U team.

Next weekend, the 14U team will get a taste of regional competition when it heads to the South Youth Football Bowl in Pensacola.

“If we’ve gone this far, I don’t see why we can’t win this tournament,” says 14-year-old Jacob Mosely, a member of the 14U team and student at Mossy Creek Middle School in Bonaire.

So how has this organization had so much success so quickly? After all, it just started last year.

“It’s discipline,” Curtis says.  “That’s what it goes back to. Seeing these guys (military members who serve as volunteer coaches) out here in their uniforms, that lets the kids know you don’t have to play football. Look at them, and what they’re doing for themselves.”

Staff Sergeant Robert Johnson got his son involved after seeing what kind of program the Harris’s were running.  He now serves as the president of Sahara Sports and says he’ll be there for the long run.

“Our youth, they need something,” Johnson says.  “It’s too often that we see in the news that our youth is out there doing the things that they shouldn’t be doing. Sports is the thing that draws them in. That’s what we’re using Sahara Sports for is to draw them in. That is not what we’re trying to do to keep them there, but we’re going to try to incorporate more study hall sessions and stuff like that.  That is why we’re always asking for volunteers. We need more volunteers to help us mentor and teach them. We need coaches. We just need a lot of volunteers.”

They could use all the help they can get.  For the tournament coming up next weekend in Pensacola, they’ll be taking a bus they bought, but it needs new tires.

If you can help out the boys in any way, or if you just want to find out more information about Sahara Sports, check out saharasports.org.