By John Streit
Correspondent
Running a health club at the time, Jay DelVecchio wasn't exactly the kind of guy that sat around and watched football on television on Thanksgiving Day in 1988.
Instead, he rallied a group of friends and co-workers to create their own gridiron competition - and burn off the turkey day calories - on the beach at the Oceanfront.
Afterward, he had no idea that the simple flag football game would change his life, as well as the face of beach sports, for the next 20 years. That was, until the players contacted DelVecchio for another game the next week.
From there, the Adult Coed Sand Football League was born. The circuit will kick off its 20th year on the beach at 25th Street on Oct. 5.
For DelVecchio, who created the sport when he formed the impromptu league, the pastime was a natural reaction to his love for the beach and his favorite sport.
"There's hundreds upon hundreds of grass flag football leagues all over the country, so you'd think that other beach leagues would've popped up almost by accident," said DelVecchio, 50, a North End resident. "But ours was the first."
The original edition of the league featured just three teams. Since then, the popularity of the sport has increased dramatically locally, with as many as 14 teams comprising the league at times in recent years.
According to DelVecchio and Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation's Eddy Hendricks, who coordinates the league, the relationship has seen the league pick up significant steam since it became an official city recreational sport in 2005.
"It's really a matter of getting the word out," said Hendricks, who has compiled an e-mail list of past participants and sent out flyers to city recreation centers. "It still varies from year-to-year, but it was nice to have 14 teams in our last spring season."
With the administrative and organization responsibilities of the league passed off to Parks and Recreation, DelVecchio began focusing on organizing and hosting a series of tournaments summertime tournaments under the United States Beach Flag Football Association moniker. His wife, Lauren, helps him.
With other areas having picked up on the sport by following DelVecchio's model, the tournaments became a national draw with teams coming from as far away as San Diego and Pensacola, Fla., to participate.
The association recently held its National Championship in conjunction with the East Coast Surfing Championships, where DelVecchio's Sand Sharks defeated fellow Virginia Beach rival Sand Spurs 31-12.
With folks from new areas constantly contacting DelVecchio about starting their own leagues, DelVecchio projects a bright future for the sport.
"I can see another 20 cities on both coasts getting involved in the next few years," he said. "It's a great sports for people both young and old, because sand is a very forgiving surface. You can really go full-tilt when you're out there, and that makes it more fun."
John Streit, 639-4805,
vb.beaconsports@yahoo.com
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