HOLDEN — Mass Elite Football sent its 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade allstar teams to the national recognized Football University Championship Final 8 in Naples, Florida, in December.
Myles Figueroa, a 7th-grader from Holden, played for his second year on the Mass Elite Team. Myles was been selected by his teammates and coaches to represent his team as team captain because of his leadership on and off the field. This is an honor he also has on his Worcester Cowboys fall team.
Myles was first picked to play for Mass Elite in 2021 after numerous prep school coaches watched him play at one of their camps that summer, before they even had tryouts for the team. At that time, he had only been playing tackle football for a couple of months.
The Mass Elite program allows student athletes to be coached by some of the best private and prep school coaches in the state. Myles is a starting wide receiver and defensive back. The Mass Elite 6th, 7th and 8th Grade All-Stars all won the first and second rounds, beating teams from New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island in the FBU Northeast Regional Championship, and advanced to the National Championship Tournament Dec. 17 in Florida.
The Mass Elite All-Stars consist of the best rising football players in Massachusetts, and compete against regional champions from the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, Florida, Texas and the West Coast for the FBU National Championship.
Co-Owner PJ Vande Rydt says more than 300 players from all over the state tryout for his 6th, 7th and 8th grade teams. This year’s teams have 103 players representing more than 25 cities and towns.
Vande Rydt says Mass Elite has provided a platform for elite players that get noticed at a national level. Alumni include numerous young athletes who have go on to play for Division 1 college programs and currently have players at Michigan, Purdue, Notre Dame, Clemson, Stanford, Arizona, Penn State, Navy, Northwestern, Boston College and numerous Ivy League schools.
