Bayside team earns trip to Germany

Six Bayside youngsters will be making a weeklong trip to Germany, but sightseeing will not be a priority. The DAC Panthers of northeastern Queens will represent the United States in the seventh annual NFL Flag Football World Championship (FFWC) in Cologne, Germany, from August 22nd through the 28th.
They will face nine other nations from three continents, including the defending champion Chaopraya Wittayakom School from Bangkok, Thailand.
&#8220There is no greater honor than to represent your country,” USA head coach Jimmy Gavalas. &#8220These boys have been given an opportunity that will probably never come about again. Every single one of them is very excited to wear the red, white and blue of the United States.”
The Panthers are currently preparing for the FFWC with a series of practices at Cunningham Park in Fresh Meadows.
The teams, made up of 12-14-year-olds will get a day of sightseeing and time at a local amusement park before the tournament begins Thursday, August 24th at the city's historic Leichtathletik Stadion. The games will spread over three days; there will be a round-robin format with two groups of five teams to determine the four semi-finalists.
The DAC Panthers are comprised of Yianni Gavalas, Eddie Roscigno, Nicky Athanasopoulos, Anthony Libroia, Kostas Akoumianakis and Brian Kruger.
The team won the NFL Flag National Tournament of Champions title at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida in November to qualify for the world finals.
&#8220When the final whistle blew at the U.S. Championships, the boys did not know what to do with themselves,” Gavalas said. &#8220They were jumping up and down, hugging each other, they were just so very happy. Now they are talking about the fun they will have in Germany, trying to communicate with the other team members, and how they will not have to use as many signals during the game since their opponents speak different languages.”
&#8220Flag football is an important part of our efforts to develop players around the world, so maybe there will be some future NFL players battling for the championship,” added Mark Waller, Senior Vice-President of NFL International.