TAMPA, Fla. — Football season is well underway, and instead of sitting the game out and watching others play, there’s a group of kids who won’t miss out on the chance to show off their special skills, thanks to a local nonprofit.

Tiffany McGlorton founded the T & T Youth NFL flag league in honor of her late 8-year-old daughter who lived with special needs.

“We started the program because Tequila, which was my daughter, before she passed away, we didn’t have any opportunities for activities and things like that,” McGlorton said. “She was diagnosed with Werdnig Hoffmann Muscular Disorder after a school bus accident. They gave her a year, maybe a year and a half to live. However, she lived until she was 8 and a half years old.”

Before losing her daughter, McGlorton said the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic put a fire under her and made her want to create a space for children with special needs.

“We want all of the kids to come out and join in and have fun. It doesn’t matter what’s wrong with you. Whether you’re in a wheelchair, whether you’re in a walker, whether you’re on crutches, we want you to bring your children out so they can have fun,” she said.

The registration for flag football is free. McGlorton said they received donations from area businesses but she’s hoping even more companies step up so they can expand their activities to even more families.

“This is just the beginning of an athletic program for the special needs kids,” she said. “We eventually want to also have the swimming league and the dancing and gymnastics. You know, all these different programs for our kids.”

For parents like Regina Ferrell, this flag football league was an answered prayer for her five-year-old son.

“Gill is five and up until this point, this is the first time that I’ve been able to get my son into something like sports and something that the everyday kid does,” she said. “He was diagnosed when he was around four years old. We noticed he wasn’t as verbal as a typical kid his age. And so, he was diagnosed with spectrum level three.”

That isn’t holding the five-year-old back from playing flag football with other children with special needs. McGlorton is hoping others get to experience that same feeling of just being a kid, having fun and playing sports.