Barry Wagner the Arena Football Leagues Unprecedented All-Time Leading 7-Time Iron-Man Player took some valuable time to meet with our 3rd Grade team. Barry’s words of hard work, training, and drive reached our young people with a “true” message of what it takes to be a champion. We greatly appreciate Barry’s time and look forward to his special skills training coaching he will bring to our organization and he is truly another Elite Hero. A little about Barry Wagner.

Barry Wagner is a retired American football player in the Arena Football League for the Orlando Predators with whom he won his first ArenaBowl Championship and the San Jose SaberCats, with whom he won two championships. Wagner is the all-time AFL all-purpose yardage leader. He is considered the best Arena Football player of all time.

While attending Alabama A&M University, Wagner starred in football and broke many school records held by former Pittsburgh Steeler John Stallworth. As a senior, he caught 112 passes for 1,817 yards (16.22 yards per rec. avg.), won Associated Press and Football News Division II All-America honors, was the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year, and played in the 1989 Senior Bowl. In one game against Clark Atlanta University, he caught 23 passes, setting two school single game records with 370 receiving yards and 5 receiving touchdowns.

He was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Bears in 1992 and spent the entire season on the active roster playing on special teams. He earned a contract from the Indianapolis Colts and was on the practice squad for the entire 1994 season.

During his initial tenure with the Orlando Predators, Wagner was a key component in the famous “Miracle Minute”, in which he scored two touchdowns, two two-point conversions, recovered an onside kick, and made a key defensive stop, all in the final minute of a 1992 game against the Detroit Drive. He was a 7-time AFL Ironman of the Year award winner, 7 years in a row (1992–1997)

Wagner played for the San Jose Sabercats from 2000 to 2006, and won the ArenaBowl with San Jose in 2004.

Recently… Hurlie Brown 2-Time National Championship Player with the University of Miami, and now Senior Football Operations Coach came to visit the Brevard Elite 7th Grade squad for some life and mental toughness coaching. A talk I know all the boys could understand and relate to, as Hurlie is a local product of Brevard County. Thank You Hurlie for stopping by and adding to this years visiting coaching…for giving back, you are truly an Elite Hero!

Brown, a standout safety for the Hurricanes from 1988-91, now returns to where his coaching career began. After winning two national titles under Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson, Brown began his professional career as a graduate assistant under Erickson for the 1992 season.

Brown comes back to Miami to join Golden’s staff from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Brown served as the Ragin’ Cajuns’ secondary coach since 2008 after spending the 2007 season working exclusively with the cornerbacks. He joined Rickey Bustle’s ULL staff after serving as defensive backs coach at Florida International from 2001 through the 2006 season.

Last season, Brown tutored a mixture of inexperienced and veteran corners, including Kyle Ward, who signed a free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers following the season.

Brown’s wealth of experience at both the major college and professional levels got the attention of Bustle.

Brown has seven years of professional playing experience, including one year with the Washington Redskins and one year with the San Francisco 49ers.

Brown was signed as a free agent in 1992 by the Redskins and signed as a free agent with the 49ers the next season. He later went to play for the Sacramento Gold Miners, San Antonio Texans and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League from 1993-97.

Following his CFL career, he joined the coaching ranks working at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale in May 1998. In May 1999, he returned to his prep alma mater, Merritt Island High School, serving as special teams coordinator/defensive backs coach before joining FIU in 2001.

At FIU, he planned, organized and executed all facets of the defensive backs position. He assisted in the foundation, organization and subsequent development of the Golden Panthers transition to a Division I football program.

April 8-10, 2011

Congratulations to Brevard Elite’s 7th Division 1 and 6th Grade Division 2 Teams who are the 2011 AAU Tampa Super Regional / Spring Jamboree Champions. Both Teams have also collected two more valuable bids to the AAU National Championships. It was hard-nosed, tough, and blistering transistion basketball exhibited by these two great teams. Followed by the biggest hearts award going out to the 3rd Grade Team which while short-handed players this weekend due to injuries, just couldn’t pull out enough strength to overcome the Champions in that age Division.

The Brevard Elite Organization is very proud of all our Individual Players, Teams, Coaches and Parents for the success we are experiencing. Believing in a program that works harder than the rest to be the best, shows with this immediate collection of Championships, Runner-ups, and National Bid/Seating while only being a few months old as an organization.

Congratulations to you all! Now its time to go back to work this week with FCAT’s and preparation for the next Big AAU Super Regional in Orlando at the Disney/ESPN Easter Classic. Go Elite!!!

To say youth basketball in Charlotte North Carolina is popular and competitive; is simply an under statement! 4 of the Top 5 AAU Teams in 7th Grade D1 & D2 come from North Carolina. Not to mention the tradition of some of the finest programs in America.

So its a sure fire test of your skills, guts, and competitive nature when you walk through the doors at the Carolina Courts in Charlotte, North Carolina. The best of the best are playing, the place is packed with spectators, and NCAA regional tournament (including Duke and North Carolina) are playing on the flat screens throughout this awesome facility. It wasn’t about traveling to different High School gyms playing locals, it was about playing clubs who traveled from all over the state, gathered in this awesome arena of multi-courts where all eyes were on you….and a ton of eyes at that.

This is the weekend and place we chose to start/kick-off our 2011 AAU 7th Grade season….The Charlotte AAU Super Regional Event! Everyone stared at the team from Florida who marched into this Division 1 contest with no knowledge about them, Brevard County, or what they were there for, but it was clear the mission was to win from the very first tip-off. As Elite faced its first team, they blew it open 17-4 before the top dogs from South Carolina (prior weekend’s regional champs in Tennessee) settled in and started to make a game of it. Our Elite team maintained a lead the entire game until a few small mistakes in the fourth quarter allowed the game to slip away to a very experienced nationals bound team.

Lesson learned (never let up), Elite blew out the next two quality clubs by 30+ points per game, leaving the crowd stunned. Therefore we ended up 2-1 for the weekend and missed the Championship Game by 7 points, but will never forget the experience gained for Nationals and the impression this weekend made on our players, coaches, parents….and the Charlotte fans.

Congratulations go out to Coach Stewart and the 6th Grade Brevard Elite Team for taking 2nd Place in the South Florida “Above the Rim” Tournament. Last year’s YBOA 5th Grade National Champions, opened this season back on track and in the face of the stronger teams in Div 1 competitions. Not only did this team step up and compete, but they walked away with hardware so their introduction to Div 1 play is a great start for the 2011 season. Go Brevard Elite!