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Graphic: Cumberland Valley Coyotes · Tap to view full size
Cumberland Valley Coyotes · Carlisle, Pennsylvania
New semi-pro football team from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, brings a hometown coach, a nonprofit mission, and a story of perseverance to the ECFA.
- Home baseCarlisle, Pennsylvania (Cumberland Valley)
- First ECFA seasonSpring 2027
- Founder & head coachJT Frey
The East Coast Football Association (ECFA) is proud to announce that the Cumberland Valley Coyotes, a new semi-pro football team based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, will join the ECFA 1A Division for the Spring 2027 season. The Coyotes are a brand-new organization, but the man behind them has been building toward this moment for most of his life.
Carlisle Through and Through
Founder and head coach JT Frey is Carlisle through and through. He grew up in town, graduated from Carlisle High School, lettered in football for two seasons, and served as a team captain his senior year. After high school, life took over, and football stepped aside for eighteen years. Then, at 36, a few friends talked him into lacing them up one more time. He joined the Cumberland Valley Hitmen in eight-man football, played three seasons, served a year as the team’s head coach, and stayed on as offensive line coach when the Hitmen moved up to the eleven-man game.
From there, coaching became his calling. Coach Frey has coached youth football in both Shippensburg and Carlisle, and for the past five years he has been on the staff at Big Spring High School, coaching the offensive line and outside linebackers. Through it all, his biggest supporters have been his wife, Dannielle, and their three children.
“I May Have Lost My Leg, but I Got My Life Back”
The road has not always been smooth. Several years of serious health battles eventually led Frey to a life-changing decision in January 2023: the amputation of his leg. It was not an easy choice, but it was the one that gave him back the things he loved. With Dannielle by his side and a lot of people in his corner, he worked through a long recovery, learned to walk again on a prosthetic leg, and returned to hiking, hunting, and, of course, coaching. As he likes to put it, “I may have lost my leg, but I got my life back.”
Building the Coyotes the Right Way
That same never-quit attitude is what gave birth to the Coyotes. Last spring, while sitting in the stands watching the boys play, the idea hit him: it was time to build a team of his own and do it his way. He went home and talked it over with Dannielle, who told him to go for it. He shared the vision with a few close friends, several of whom signed on as coaches. Then he did things the right way, forming a nonprofit corporation and earning 501(c)(3) status before ever taking the team public. Not long after, the ECFA reached out, and after one conversation it was clear the Coyotes had found their home.
Built for the 1A Division
The ECFA 1A Division is built for exactly this kind of organization. Created for new teams, smaller clubs, and programs building their identity, 1A gives teams with 35-player rosters a level playing field, a schedule centered on like-sized opponents, and a championship, rings, and prizes of their own. For a first-year team from the Cumberland Valley, it is the perfect place to grow.
The Cumberland Valley Coyotes will bring Central Pennsylvania grit, a hometown coaching staff, and a leader who knows what it means to fight back. On behalf of the entire East Coast Football Association, welcome to the family, Coyotes. Spring 2027 cannot come soon enough.
Originally posted on the ECFA Facebook page on October 31, 2026.
