Three Lehighton Area Elementary School students are making waves on the national youth football stage, traveling all over the map as members of WeDifferent, a Lehigh Valley-based organization.

Antuan Dixon, Maxsim Jones, and Jayce Morales play on WeDifferent’s 10U squad. The three Carbon County kids make the drive to the Lehigh Valley for practice multiple times a week and spend many weekends competing in tournaments from New Jersey to Florida.

“The boys normally travel about 50 minutes to practice and then home. Normally, a two-hour practice, and sometimes they do not get home until after 10 p.m. on a school night,” said Jesse Jones, Maxsim’s father.

“Most tournaments are two hours away. A lot of times, we are getting up at 4-5 a.m. to leave so we can be there an hour before our game and not leaving until six hours later, which makes about a 12-hour day.”

While that type of commitment is substantial for families during the school year, the development shows up every time the young athletes step on the field.

80+ Games a Year Across the Country

WeDifferent plays 5-on-5 flag football across the tri-state area and well beyond. Coach Jay Millan of Allentown brings over a decade of mentoring experience to the group. He leads the 10U squad and said the team travels to New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Florida throughout the year while also trying to fly somewhere once or twice a season.

“Florida has become the big one,” Millan said. “NFL Flag keeps moving their nationals to different locations. Before it was in Florida, then it was in Vegas, and it was in Ohio. Now it’s going to be in Indianapolis, so that’d be the next big one that we go to.”

The schedule is relentless. Millan estimated the team plays about 85 games per year.

Most recently, the three Lehighton kids traveled to Orlando to compete in the Unrivaled Youth Flag World Championship. They had the opportunity to meet NFL legend Drew Brees, one of many professionals they’ve met during their competition experiences.

This past season, Millan’s 10U squad came one game away from reaching the championship and playing on ESPN. A separate 11U team he also coaches won it all on national TV.

“Watching them grow, I would say, is probably one of the most enjoyable things,” Millan said. “We do win a lot of tournaments and they kind of become complacent with winning, but when they really win, that one that we harp on the entire year — when we win the big ones, that’s when you really see them in awe and happy.”

‘Flag Got Me Shiftier’

Practices happen twice a week, and Millan was quick to point out that not every session is about running plays.

“It’s not always just running plays. Sometimes we’re doing skill work, speed and agility, strength, or we’re doing social type of stuff,” Millan said. “We’ll have fun days — kickball, water-balloon fights ... Every time we have an event, a car wash, or a get-together, it always turns into something fun for the kids.”

Ask the three Lehighton kids why they play, and the answers carry more weight than you might expect from their age.

Maxsim, a fifth-grader, plays running back and linebacker in tackle football, then shifts to wide receiver, linebacker, and safety for WeDifferent, he noted. He sees a difference in his game since joining WeDifferent.

“You’ll get a lot better,” Maxsim said. “Flag got me shiftier.”

His goals for next year are clear. “Trying to win the championship in Florida and winning the gold medal in the Junior Olympics, and then winning nationals,” he said.

Dixon, a fourth-grader, plays receiver and linebacker in flag football and said his favorite part of WeDifferent is the balance between development and fun.

“My favorite thing about playing flag in this organization is that I have time to get better, and we have some fun practices,” Antuan said.

Antuan also recently played in a 7-on-7 tournament with an organization called Defcon United in Houston on a full-sized football field — a different format from his usual 5-on-5 flag competition.

Fellow fourth-grader Morales said his favorite thing about playing for WeDifferent is elevating his game. “It makes me better, and I can improve myself,” he added.

Jayce mentioned the team recently lost a close game by just one point, the kind of tight competition the kids face regularly on the travel circuit.

The trio also “knows ball” off the field, too. They highlighted NFL legends like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and LaDainian Tomlinson as some of their favorite players.

Jesse Jones said the growth goes beyond any one player.

“It’s a lot of time and dedication for all the kids, not just those three. They all make each other the best,” Jones said. “Iron sharpens iron.”

‘The Most Dominant

Organization in the World’

Jason Solarek, Vice President of WeDifferent, doesn’t hold back when describing what the organization has built.

“There is no team in the Lehigh Valley that can compare to us, or in the United States right now, or in the world,” he said. “A lot of these organizations have teams, but they don’t have family. We adjust to make things right, to keep the kids together, to keep them motivated, to keep them going forward.”

Solarek noted the organization was founded in 2020, and said that players must live within 70 miles of the organization to compete in NFL Flag regional events. The program draws families from across the region, including Carbon County.

WeDifferent also runs a growing girls’ program. Millan said the 14U girls team won a gold medal at the Junior Olympics in Texas last summer.

“It’s definitely going in the right direction,” Millan added.

WeDifferent’s family-first culture is something Solarek said separates WeDifferent from other organizations.

“What I’ve given these kids, they’ve given me back over a million times,” Solarek said. “I’ve traveled the whole United States in the last seven years because of that. I got my life cleaned up, and I got a relationship with my family back.”

For three elementary school kids from Carbon County, the long drives and early mornings are worth it. The competition is real. The growth is real. And so is the family they’ve found along the way.

“We always say WeDifferent is nothing but life lessons on a daily basis,” Solarek said. “We’re always learning something.”

Find out more about the organization and how to get involved on social media at Facebook.com/WeDifferentAllentown.