SWFL flag football team heads to Junior Olympics in Iowa

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — A Southwest Florida flag football team now known as Most Wanted will represent the area at the AAU Flag Football Junior Olympics in Iowa next weekend.

In just two tournaments, this team—formerly known as Two Legit Naples—punched its ticket to Iowa, something many of the nation's top teams take twice as long to accomplish. The roster brings together players from across the state, including Naples, Lehigh, Dunbar, Immokalee, Ave Maria and even Miami.

"I'm hoping to learn a lot of things," said Andrew Francis, a player from Miami. "See how different people can play. I can maybe learn things from some other people. They have great coaches, too."

But earning a spot was only half the battle. Getting more than a dozen players to Iowa came with a hefty price tag.

"It took me three days a week for the last three weeks, just knocking on doors, saying, 'Hey, you know, we've got kids out here that need sponsorship. It's very expensive to travel right now," said Rodney Miller, president of Most Wanted.

Francis said the competition in Southwest Florida has been crucial to his development.

"Just to compete, like where I live, there's not a lot of competition in flag… tackle, yeah," Francis said. "But here is better competition."

Coaches say that competition has helped build a team chemistry good enough to earn a top-six national ranking. Willie Callins, a player from Immokalee, is confident in his team's abilities.

"We have a lot of great players," Callins said. "I feel like we are the best team out there. We could beat anybody."

But the trip to Iowa is a chance to experience something far beyond the football field.

"Some of these kids have never even been on an airplane, so learning new stuff, getting used to travel, knowing how to present yourself in a restaurant, knowing how to present yourself on the field," Miller said.

The team flies out on Friday.