By: Europe’s Elite
Last night The Clearwater Academy Knights in Florida bashed IMG Academy (White) Ascenders in a 54-22 victory, for the school’s first SSIA championship title.
Clearwater Academy is a small private school, located in the Tampa, Florida area, with an enrollment of fewer than 300 students. Seeing as the Knights just won a state championship in Florida, many may assume that most of the players are from the state of Florida.
But after reviewing the Knights roster, it is clear that this championship roster is made up of international athletes. In fact, after speaking with one of the coaches from CAI (Clearwater International Academy) we were informed that the Knights only had 11 American athletes on their roster this year. The remainder of the roster is made up of 40 international athletes from Canada, Nigeria, Sweden, Germany, and more.
The Knights compete in the Sunshine State Independent Association (SSIA) and this is the school’s 1st state title. International athletes Aric Burton of Germany, and Lucas Simmons of Sweden are just two of many international athletes who played a key role in the Knights’ victorious season.