Lee Roy Selmon inspired pastor to feed student athletes

By Mike Hamson
Special Correspondent
TBO.com
Published: April 27, 2016

The Rev. Jeffery Singletary of Valrico said he started his Huddle Touch ministry four years ago as a way to pay tribute to a church member who inspired him — Tampa Bay Buccaneer legend Lee Roy Selmon.

Huddle Touch provides mentoring and pregame meals to student athletes at more than 50 schools in Florida. The idea of reaching out to athletes came to Singletary after Lee Roy Selmon passed away. Selmon was a member of his Exciting Central Tampa Baptist Church where Singletary was the pastor before making a separate ministry out of Huddle Touch.

“I was always speaking and doing chapel services for the Bucs, for various NFL football teams, colleges and high schools,” Singletary said. “Lee Roy Selmon was in one of my men’s groups. He came to me when Jefferson High School was going to play the state championship that afternoon. He asked me if I would go and speak at the high school with him. We did, and they went and won the state championship. The following football season, Lee Roy passed.”

Singletary said that Sunday before Selmon died, he put his arms around the pastor and said he’d call when he got back from a trip to Dallas.

“The last thing I remembered about Lee Roy Selmon was his touch,” Singletary said. “He touched me that day. For some reason, it stuck with me.”

Singletary, the cousin of pro football hall-of-famer Mike Singletary, started the program with Blake and Middleton high schools, but now reaches out with messages about sportsmanship and encouragement to schools from Tallahassee to Miami.

“One of the things going on with Blake and Middletown is when the played they would fight,” he said. “That night at Blake they fought. I said to myself, ‘I’m done.’ I was walking away and the Lord opened my heart and said, ‘Don’t quit; do something.’ ”

He then met with the principals of the schools to talk about the idea for the mentoring program that included a pregame meal to both teams.

“They played their game, and from that day to this day in four years they have never had another incident like that,” he said. “Everything we do for these kids is free. We do not ask them for money.”

He raises money through word-of-mouth and meeting with business men and women to explain to them what they want to accomplish.

Two of the businessmen who plan to help out by catering at a discount are Norman Harris and Elia Kallas, the owners of Café Cuba. The Brandon residents like the idea of helping a Christian nonprofit organization.

“He goes every Friday and feed them a pregame meal at no cost,” Harris said. “They allow him to speak his message. It’s not fire and brimstone.”

For more information on Huddle Touch ministry, visit centraltampa.org.

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