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Raiders kick off season Friday
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The Manteca Raiders are coming.
This new youth football and cheer program is getting ready to kick off the 2018 season with a strong vision filled with core values, fundamentals, and teaching and knowledge of the game.
The Raiders are being spearheaded by president Fred Ramirez, vice president Laura Vieira-Saunders, and a 17-member board of directors.
Ramirez, for one, doesn’t want to get the Raiders to be confused with past organizations.
“(We’re) a small collective group that came together to do something different,” he said. “The concept we came up with was nothing new – we want to go to the roots of youth football and go back to the fundamentals.
“The core base of the Raiders will be built on teaching, fundamentals, and the experience of the players involved.”
An information meeting is scheduled on Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Straw Hat Pizza, 1238 N. Main St. Ramirez along with the program’s AD Anthony Sequeira and cheer director Samantha Ferrando will be on hand.
“We are building a team of excellence while building a community of character,” said Vieira-Saunders, who added that the Raiders are making plans to be in attendance at noteworthy events around town such as Relay for Life and Collecting for Childhood Cancer.
The Raiders, in addition, are looking to continuously build on the program.
“As we continue to grow and develop in the community, we will also try to build a rapport with our high schools,” said Ramirez. “That way we can help them develop productive young men and women for their program.
“We’re not just concentrating on football – we’re recruiting individuals and making strides on instill a great cheer program.”
He knows this process will take time.
“We will work every year to develop this program towards becoming an institution in this community,” Ramirez said.
For more information, call Ramirez at 209.969.0312, Sequeira at 209.610.1502, or Ferrando at 209.276.9436.