Blaise Williamson, the Waterset 49ers quarterback, will lead his team to the inaugural flag football Junior Olympics game in Texas.
He is a second grader and an athlete with the Under the Lights Flag Football League in Apollo Beach.
His mom, Marya Williamson, said her son has thrived in the league and the team has gotten progressively better.
“Nobody anticipated them winning, and they just kept winning every single game,” she said.
They qualified for the Junior Olympics in December 2024, placing second in the first through second grader age group.
Williamson’s husband, Jason, coaches the team. She said he helped lead the team through his coaching strategies and compassion.
“He just loves coaching,” Marya said. “He loves being a positive influence in the kids.”
The Junior Olympics will be hosted in July. Marya said it’s all the 11 young athletes talk about.
“They’re super excited,” she said.
She said that during the season, the team would lose and become the underdogs going into the tournament.
“It’s not mean, but they’ll say, ‘We’re going to get our revenge today,’” Marya said. “They just have that grit about them, and they don’t like to lose.”
She said being the underdog fueled them to win.
Under the Lights Flag Football is a national youth league for flag football players in prekindergarten through eighth grade.
The Waterset 49ers include both rookies and more seasoned players, like Blaise, who started playing flag football at the Riverview YMCA in VPK.
Being part of the team allowed Marya’s son and other young athletes to make close friendships through their shared love of the sport.
“It’s really cool to see the bonds that they’ve developed overtime and that’s what is pretty remarkable about them,” Williamson said.
She said, since joining the team, the kids have grown a lot and learned skills they’ve even brought into the other sports they play.
In preparation for the Junior Olympics trip to Texas in July, the team has started a GoFundMe, to help raise money for the trip. The team is hoping to raise $29,000.
You can follow the team on Instagram @49ers_flagfootball.
