MOUNT WASHINGTON, Ky. — With the uprising of a worldwide pandemic in 2020, the Greater Bullitt County Youth Football League made the tough decision to end their youth football and cheer season for all nine of their teams just days before the scheduled playoff games that Bullitt County is known so intensely for. This incredibly hard decision would soon become the topic of many conversations during the 2020 holidays and into the new 2021 year.

With the new year, came many changes and challenges for both the Greater Bullitt County Youth Football League and for the three programs housed in Mount Washington. The creation of a new and opposing league in East Bullitt County threatened the 21 year traditional Pleasant Grove Dolphins program. There were the doubts – spoken and unspoken – when a one home-grown, six- year Dolphins coach wanted to reinvent the program. The question on everyone’s mind was: What family is going to want to bring their kids to a traditional program when a new high-school feeder program was being created?

A program that started 2021 with three board members and a B-Team head coach faced the uncertainty of their program not making it through player registrations. Yet, even with all these obstacles, the opening of traditional boundaries for teams in the Greater Bullitt County Youth Football League brought the Pleasant Grove Dolphins a full roster for their B-Team and their Pee-wee teams. Fast forward a few weeks when the Dolphins made the decision to bring on four- and five-year-olds to join them as a flag “Little Giants” football team.

Even though the 2021 Pleasant Grove Dolphins season got off to a rough start, it’s been a memorable season for Dolphins football in more ways than one. Both the B- Team and the Pee-wee teams ended their seasons with an undefeated 13-0 championship win and made some serious noise in Bullitt County. And even the younger Dolphins fought their way all the way through playoffs with an incredible season.

Hard work paid off for the Pleasant Grove Dolphins, who had a unique situation, with many of their players coming from outside of Bullitt County.

“It was a challenge bringing all these kids together on the same team and getting them on the same page, and a unique challenge,” B-Team Head Coach Eric Carby said. “But that kind of made it more of a special team.”

The Dolphins ran the ball hard all year with a huge number of players contributing behind a strong offensive line that paved the way. Defensively, the Dolphins were arguably even better, holding their ten regular season opponents and two playoff opponents all the way through the season for an undefeated number one seed title.

“This group of kids, they worked and played well together. We added in kids from all over the county and throughout Louisville to our existing dozen or so original Dolphins players and turned them all into one genuine Dolphins family. This is what youth football is about. It’s not about the wins and the losses. It’s not about what program is better than the other. It’s about loving the game and loving our athletes even more. These boys worked hard for those Dolphins jerseys. They worked hard for that Championship win. They deserve it. They earned it. Through the heat, the rain, the cold, the looks, and the talk from around the county, they did it. They overcame all the hurdles thrown at them. And they did it in traditional Dolphins style,” says Carby.

Dolphins Chairman, Tiffany Thornsberry says, “Every single decision that we have made since January 2021 has been by the book and done with class and grace. We took all the hate aimed our way and turned it into motivation for our kids and for our program. We know that no one wanted to see us get this far. We know that no one wanted to see us succeed. But that just goes to show you how incredible coaches can influence incredible kids.”

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