The Red Devil Football League Held its 48th Annual Awards Dinner last week, celebrating the accomplishments of not only the league but of the individual members within the league. Over 100 awards were distributed to members of the football teams and cheerleading squads at the dinner which was held at the Crest Hollow Country Club.

The Red Devils have been an integral part of the Levittown community since 1952. It is a football and cheerleading program that offers those activities for children ranging from 5-14 years old.

In a letter at the front of the journal handed out at the awards dinner,

Dennis Machado, commissioner of the Red Devils states, "The Red Devils board members' philosophy can best be summed up by the following quote: 'There is no contribution more worthwhile to a community than one that benefits its youth, who are the very future.'"

The Red Devils are part of the Nassau-Suffolk Football League, which has the Levittown organization playing against communities such as Plainedge, Bethpage, Wantagh, Seaford, Copaigue, West Babylon, North Babylon, Islip, Deer Park and many more. The Red Devil Program runs on the money raised through the registration fee as well as the money raised through fund raisers. "We are probably one of the lowest organizations around as far as fee," said Machado. Approximately 1100 children from the Levittown and Island Trees communities participate in this program.

At the awards dinner, to acknowledge the success of the program were many local officials who noted the benefits that a program such as the Red Devils brings to the community. Present at the event were State Senator Kemp Hannon, County Comptroller Fred Parola, Town Supervisor Rich Guardino, Town Councilman Tony Santino, and former Town Councilman Gary Hudes who is a Levittown resident. One of the most enthusiastic local officials at the event was lifelong Levittowner Assemblywoman Kate Murray, who was introduced by her father Norman Murray who emceed the event. Assemblywoman Murray spoke to those gathered about what a great program Red Devils was and proudly noted that she herself had been a Red Devils Cheerleader.

The Red Devils are part of the Levittown/Island Trees Youth Council, and the director of that organization, Kevin Regan was present at the dinner and was presented with an award for his contributions to the program. Other adults who received recognition for their contributions included Jerome and Donna Donahue, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Rich Guardino, and Cheerleading Director Carol Caserta.

Many of the football players and cheerleaders also received awards for their sportsmanship, dedication, coachability, leadership, good grades and other positive attributes. Coaches select the players who have earned awards and Machado, as commissioner matches the recipients with the award that best fits that player's attributes and accomplishments.

The Red Devils program is known not only for being a great sports program but being a program that stresses the importance of strong character. According to Machado, "We try to teach sportsmanship, leadership, character. ... Self-respect as well as respect for others." In a letter to all parents from the Red Devil Board of Directors, the directors encourage parents to be good role models and to show their children that winning is not the most important thing. They ask parents to remember that all the players are doing their best.

The Red Devil Board of Directors is made up of adult members of the league who are elected every two years. Some of the responsibilities of the board include putting together the annual dinner, fund raising, selecting coaches and getting together the equipment for the players. Although the actual season runs from Aug. 1 to the first week in December, "the board works 365 days a year," noted Machado.

Team coaches for the Red Devils are often parents who have volunteered their time to participate in the program with their children. The process of selecting the coaches for the 2000 season is presently going on, anyone interested in coaching a Red Devil team for the upcoming season must contact Machado by Feb. 5. Those who have expressed an interest must then appear before the board to be selected. Before the season begins, the coaches who have been selected choose their teams through a draft process.

Besides the character and leadership abilities that are gained through this program, the participants also learn the sport itself. According to Machado, he had one team, made up of 19 players, where 18 out of the 19 players earned football scholarships for college. While this is important, he once again stressed, "Winning is the name of the game but winning is not the most important thing."

Red Devils, which brings so much to the community, is funded mainly through the community's support. "Without our fund-raising people we would probably be lost. We would have to raise our fees to the point where it could probably be a problem," said Machado. "The surrounding community supports us through the journal." The journal, which was given out at the awards dinner included the names of all the award winners from the prior year's awards dinner, team pictures of this year's football players and cheerleaders and boosters to the program's participants.

A full list of the winners of the awards from this season and photos of the winners receiving the awards will appear in future issues of the Levittown Tribune.