Did you ever dream of marching out of the shadows, into the bright lights, and onto the awesome green gridiron of a huge stadium packed with more than 60,000 cheering fans? And, did you ever dream of telling your buddies about how you threw a key block, made a big run, or fired-out for a perfect defensive stop in the very place that your favorite NFL team calls home?

Well, guess what? To kickoff the start of the Pop Warner season, four Pop Warner Pee Wee Division teams from the New England Region not only dreamed that dream, they lived it, and a whole lot more! “No way!“, you say. Yes, “way!”, we say.  And, here’s how…
                                            
August 26th marked the 2010 Pop Warner Nationwide Kickoff, an event designed to celebrate the start of the Pop Warner and NFL seasons, now in its sixth year. And, what made the day extra special for a whole bunch of Pop Warner players, coaches and families in the land of the bean and the cod, is that, as this year’s Official NFL Team Host, the perennial powerhouse New England Patriots invited Pee Wee teams from the region to be their guests for a jam-packed program of excitement, action, fun and inspiration at none other than fabulous Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA !

The grand event started that afternoon with a pep talk to 22 top New England 2010 Pop Warner All-American Scholars selected to participate in the 2010 Pop Warner Nationwide Kickoff. Now, while you may think that pep talks are usually reserved for coaches, Jonathan Kraft, President of the New England Patriots, and former New England Patriots linebacker and current Patriots Executive Director of Community Affairs Andre Tippett were the perfect guys to deliver the stirring words. For, while Jonathan Kraft, the 2006 recipient of Pop Warner’s most prestigious accolade - the Warner Award , and Andre Tippett, an NFL Hall of Famer and a unanimous choice for the All-Time New England Patriots team, are not only huge Pop Warner supporters, they also both coach Pop Warner teams.

“Coach” Tippett drew on his own playing experience to offer some no nonsense, practical advice for every Pop Warner scholar athlete out there as they approach the 2010 season. “It’s all about competing, both with the guy across from you and he guy next to you. Success on the field, and in the classroom, is about setting goals, working hard and pushing each other. If you’re able to do that, all the time, every time, there is no obstacle you can’t overcome.”

“Coach” Kraft then let everyone know that, “As I go around the NFL, there’s a very cool fact you learn.  Something like 70 % of the players in the NFL started out in Pop Warner. And, while I’m sure all of you would love to get to the NFL, an even cooler statistic is knowing about how many brilliant doctors, teachers, lawyers, businesspeople, political leaders and coaches started out in Pop Warner.”

Jonathan Kraft also stressed a very important distinction that puts Pop Warner experience head and shoulders above other youth sports… ”academics.” As Jonathan put it, “Many of you have had exceptional success in the classroom. Once you couple what you can achieve in the classroom, with what you get from playing Pop Warner football, you’ll get the idea of what it means to work as part of a team.  And once you understand what your job is, what it means to work with your teammates, to build them up not tear them down, and what you learn through competition, perseverance and also good sportsmanship, then whether you make it to the NFL or not, you are going to be exceptional in anything you do throughout your lives.”

After a pep talk like that, who wouldn’t want to jump up, get out, and get things done!  And, at precisely 4:00 PM that’s exactly what these two teams of Pop Warner Senior Scholars did as they staged the ceremonial kickoff to the Pop Warner 2010 season. But, that was just the start of this super evening at the home of the three-time Super Bowl champs.

After a round of TV interviews, and a great tailgate meal, players and coaches from Pop Warner New England Region teams who played in last year’s Pop Warner National Championships at Disney (now ESPN) Wide World of Sports were invited to the sidelines prior to the National Anthem to watch pre-game warm-ups for the Patriots and the Rams exhibition game and be recognized for participating in the Pop Warner Super Bowl.

No sooner had those players and coaches taken their seats than the action started on the field. Patriot’s receiver #19 Brandon Tate took the Rams opening kick, cut to his right, and raced 97 yards down the sidelines for a New England touchdown.

And the action kept on coming! Near the end of the first half, four Pop Warner Pee Wee teams - from Foxboro, Mansfield, Taunton and North Attleboro- assembled in full uniform just outside the stadium for an opportunity they’ll never forget. Parading out to the applause of appreciative fans, these Pop Warner Pee Wees took the field for a halftime’s worth of enthusiastic full-tilt scrimmage. The two games (each played from the 50 yard line to the opposite end zone) featured plenty of sound fundamentals and a little razzle – dazzle that’s sure to be a part of the 2010 season.

While one of the games featured a big gainer on offense by North Attleboro off a “hook and ladder” play, the biggest crowd-pleaser of the halftime action went to a play by the Taunton Tigers in their scrimmage against the Mansfield Hornets. With the score tied 0-0 in a tough defensive battle, 12 yr old Taunton running back Giani Mitchell described what happened next, “We lined up in our spread formation for a sweep right. We’ve been working on that play quite a bit in practice. I got the ball and my teammate Justin Gadry, who’s also a running back for us, put a great block on their outside linebacker. I went inside Justin’s block, cut back to the left and just started running. It was exciting!”  You bet it was!  With the huge Gillette Stadium crowd at the east end of the stadium roaring , fleet-footed Giani took it to house from there, racing 40 yards for a touchdown.

As the Pats and Rams returned to the field for the second half of their game, the Pop Warner players and coaches from all four teams
headed out to a great round of applause, high-fives and well wishes from Gillette’s capacity crowd. Wow! What a thrill!

“TEE IT UP! “ - REFLECTIONS ON THE POP WARNER EXPERIENCE

Looking back over all the excitement of our time with the Pats, there were just so many gems of wisdom and insight that emerged from the whole event. And, here are just a few:

The first comes from a recent “graduate.”  Andrew Miner, a 2010 Pop Warner First Team All-American Senior Scholar from East Greenwich, RI, participated in the ceremonial Nationwide Kickoff at Gillette Stadium.  Andrew was honored this past May with a Russell Scholarship for the highest grade point average among all Pop Warner scholar athletes in the country.

Now a high school freshman, and quarterback with his JV team, Andrew had this to say about what Pop Warner has meant to him. “Pop Warner not only taught me the fundamentals of the game. It taught me discipline and respect, for not only myself but for my competitors, my teammates, and my coaches. I don’t think I would be in the same position going into high school on the field or in the classroom had it not been for Pop Warner.” 

With a big smile, Andrew added, “ I just told Mr. Kraft that I’m going to be his quarterback someday.” Seeing the number 12 on his jersey, and watching him launch one long, 40 yard tight spiral pass after another to guys running deep patterns after the ceremonial kickoff, Andrew Miner may very well achieve that goal.

And, Jonathan Kraft had this to say about his own devotion to Pop Warner and what it means to so many young participants. “Watching kids develop over a Pop Warner football season, the skill sets are so specific that it’s not like shooting hoops in the driveway. You see the kids developing as part of a team. Moreover, they bond and form a true sense of camaraderie that you just don’t see in any other sport. And for me, watching the kids do that is such a joy. That’s what I like so much about Pop Warner.

The process is amazing. Every August, you start off with kids questioning why they’re there. By October, they’re dreading the fact that the season will soon be over. That’s the transformation, that’s where you see the bonds have formed between teammates, that’s where you see the game clicks with these kids, that’s where you see that they understand their roles, that they understand being one of eleven. That’s Pop Warner. It’s a lot of fun, and its really special to see.” 

NFL Hall of Famer Andre Trippett who, like Jonathan Kraft, finds time in his hectic schedule to coach a Pop Warner team, had some sage advice for all coaches and volunteers as we head into another great season:

“Always make sure you know what you’re talking about when you’re coaching the players. If you don’t know, you won’t gain the trust of those players. Just because you play the game doesn’t mean it carries over to being a great coach. Just as I practiced and learned how to play at every level, it was the same with coaching. I’ve talked to some of our coaches here with the Patriots. I’ve gone to a ton of clinics, some great Pop Warner clinics. I’ve learned how to coach and how to teach. That said, my message still has to be consistency with the players. Make them know that you value them, that you have trust in them and that they can have trust in you. Just like we tell players that you have to work to get better every year, you have to try and get better every year as a coach too. People say, ‘Oh, it’s great that you’re coaching.’ Well, you know what, coaching Pop Warner is a hard job. You need to adjust your work schedule. You’re like a coach, an administrator, and an assistant all in one. Plus, for awhile, you’re parenting about 22 kids!  But I appreciate it, and I believe everyone, at some point, should try to experience it. “

Andre Tippett speaks from experience

Talking with Andre about the value of Pop Warner to young people and families all over the country, he came back to his message about the importance of “learning how to compete” and just how important a lesson that can be for all of us.

Speaking from experience, Andre said, “The value of learning how to compete is not just for Pop Warner football, it’s for school, for work, for a whole lot of things. I like to give that message to my players because, in life, we all need to set a standard. It’s about everyone understanding there’s a level we want to get to in sports, and in life, if we want to be good. If my players come to me and say they just want to be on the football team and compete and have a good time, that’s okay, I have no problem with that. But, if they say ‘We’re tryin’ to win this game, Coach.’ Or ‘ We wanna have a winning season’ Or,  ‘We wanna go undefeated, Coach.’  Well, now they’ve changed the standard. Now, I start talking to the kids about their taking ownership of the team. I can only do so much for them in practice. I can’t suit up and play the game with them. During the game, we coaches are on the sidelines cheering you on, sending in plays, making corrections, things like that. But, the rest is back to you. It’s your ownership of the team, and maintaining its standards, that’s going to carry you through.” 

Those are wise words for this season, and for all seasons. Thanks, Andre!
 
And, finally, Pop Warner Executive Director Jon Butler put this great day in perspective when he added, “There are over 400,000 participants this year in Pop Warner football, cheer and dance. And, thanks to the generosity of Mr. Kraft and the New England Patriots, all of you here got to share this amazing experience.”

“Amazing” indeed! Good luck to Pop Warner Nationwide as we kickoff the 2010 season with a bang!

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