Miami Dolphins treat Poinciana football players to NFL preseason camp

Jul. 26--The Poinciana High football program hasn't caught many breaks since it last enjoyed a winning season 19 years ago.

But the Eagles got a big boost in preseason enthusiasm from none other than the Miami Dolphins on Thursday.

The Dolphins hosted 39 Poinciana players and their coaches for an NFL training camp session at Nova Southeastern University. The Eagles were given a tour of the Baptist Health Training Facility and watched practice.

"They really treated us phenomenally," first-year Poinciana head coach Randy Beeken said on Friday. "We literally went down just hoping to sit in the stands and watch practice. They gave all the kids sideline credentials and gave us the full tour. It was really great."

One of Poinciana's assistant coaches, Jerry Trychta, is a Dolphins' season ticket holder and he made a phone call in advance that opened the window to the NFL.

"We come from a very repressed area and this is an opportunity these kids would have never had," Beeken said. "They got to see that what we're teaching every day at the high school level goes all the way to the professional level. Even though it's a much different skill level, it's the same drills. It's the same ideas, same concepts."

Poinciana has a dismal 20-160 football record since it went 6-5 in 2000 and it has also struggled to fund its program. Beeken launched a GoFundMe account this year as a means to raise money to pay for needed equipment.

The Eagles' offensive coordinator, Todd Carpenter, who runs an insurance business in addition to coaching, paid for most of the costs of Thursday's one-day charter bus trip, which was primarily designed as means to introduce Poinciana players to college campuses in South Florida.

The Poinciana delegation departed Osceola County at 5:30 a.m. and made stops to meet with the coaching staff at St. Thomas University (which is launching football this year) plus a quick stop at FIU that included lunch before another tour at FAU that included a meeting with college coaches before heading back to Central Florida.

"That was really the object of the trip, to get these kids on college campuses," Beeken said. "A lot of them have never thought of college as an option."

It was good fortune that added the full pro football experience to the excursion. The Dolphins routinely invite South Florida high schools from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties for training camp visits. But a team slot on the sideline was available when Poinciana arrived and the Eagles were given the royal treatment.

"It's so surreal to see these guys," Poinciana's senior quarterback, Justin Carpenter, said of seeing the Dolphins at work. "I definitely watched the quarterbacks and how they lead their offense, how they're huddling up and the footwork. I'm just hoping I can take a part of their game and apply it to mine."

Beeken said the Dolphins agreed to provide Poinciana a slot to see a day of training camp every season.

"We made good contacts and we assured them we're fully committed to coming down every year," said Beeken, who was Poinciana's head JV coach the past four years.

His team joins the rest of Florida's high school football programs in opening preseason practice on Monday, starting with a 6-9 p.m. session.

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The Eagles are scheduled to be home, Aug. 16, for a preseason Kickoff Classic game against Cypress Creek and home again for a season opener, Aug. 23, against Lake Howell.

Poinciana went 2-8 the past two seasons -- marking the first time the Eagles had won two games in consecutive campaigns since 1999/2000.

"I really think we're going to have a pretty good year," Beeken said.

A day with the Dolphins certainly didn't hurt.

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