POP WARNER TO CONDUCT NATIONWIDE SIMULTANEOUS KICKOFF FOR “PLAY FOOTBALL MONTH” AND START OF CELEBRATION YEAR
More Than 28,000 Youth Football and Cheerleading Participants From Hawaii to Massachusetts Will Take Part in Ceremonial Kickoff at 6PM (EST)/ 3PM (PST)
Thursday, August 25, 2005 (Langhorne, PA) – Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. (PWLS), the largest national youth football and cheerleading organization in the United States and the only youth sports organization with an academic requirement, will celebrate the start of Play Football Month and the organization's Celebration Year (76 th season) by conducting the Pop Warner Simultaneous Kickoff across the country at 6PM (EST)/3PM (PST) today. It will involve more than 28,000 youth football and cheerleading participants in more than 125 Pop Warner associations from Hawaii to Massachusetts .
The Pop Warner Simultaneous Kickoff is designed to recognize the start of the organization's 76 th season, which is being called its Celebration Year, and to demonstrate Pop Warner's support of Play Football Month. The national campaign - created by USA Football, the NFL, and NFL Players Association is a month-long effort celebrating football in cities and towns across America at the youth, high school, college and professional levels.
“Our programs are very excited to take part in this nationwide Simultaneous Kickoff and participate in Play Football Month on a scale unmatched by any other youth football organization,” said Jon Butler, Executive Director of Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. “The response has been overwhelming and we are already looking forward to planning next year's Pop Warner Simultaneous Kickoff.”
The Pop Warner Simultaneous Kickoff will take place on football fields in urban and suburban areas across the country, coinciding with a 6PM (EST) start time, except in Arizona where the school schedules conflict with the Kickoff. As a result Arizona programs will hold their own Simultaneous Kickoff at 6:30 PM (PST).
Some of the programs participating in the Pop Warner Simultaneous Kickoff include:
Dale City Youth Athletic Club of Woodbridge , VA – The Washington DC area is on the verge of a football dynasty with the Dale City Pop Warner program. In 2004 Dale City attempted to win back-to-back national championships at the Pop Warner National Championship in Disney World but lost 20-16 to rival powerhouse the White Oak Warriors of Silver Spring, MD in the Division 1 Midget Super Bowl (ages 11-15). The program, made up of 300 football participants and 50 cheer/dance participants (ages 5-13), has quickly become a feeder system to the local area high schools and as a result for the first time will not compete in the Midget division this year. Dale City still has sights set on another national championship, taking a queue from the defending NFL Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, with the Prince William Patriots in the Jr. Midget division (ages 11-13).
Havelock Pop Warner of Havelock/New Bern , NC – The program has been in existence for more than 40 years and is made up of 200 football players and 125 cheer/dance participants (ages 5-13). In 2004, Havelock sent three cheerleading squads to the regional finals and two football teams advanced to the second round of the regional playoffs in North Carolina . The program, which is based right outside a Marine Corps base, endures a significant amount of turnover each year because 80-to-90% of the participants parents are deployed in the military, and 60% of the participants become single-family homes anywhere between 6 months to a year as a result of deployments. The Havelock program serves as an outlet for the kids to go out and have fun for a few hours a day and not have to think about a parent's deployment. The program which is run by a former Marine, experiences its own highs-and-lows beyond the playing field, because as one group of participant's parent(s) return from a deployment, another group's may be deployed.
Space Coast Sharx of Cocoa (Port St. John), FL – The program is made up of 150 football players and 70 cheer/dance participants (ages 5-15) and is beginning its fifth year of existence. They have been Jr. Pee Wee (ages 8-11 year-olds) Mid Florida Conference Champions for the last four years. Their Midget (ages 11-15) football team has played in the Florida Citrus Bowl and Champs Sports Bowl pre-games for the last two years. The Space Coast Sharx are located right next to The Kennedy Space Center, and a majority of the participants parents, coaches and volunteers work at The Kennedy Space Center or The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on both the Space Shuttle and the Unmanned Rocket Programs.
Robbins Eagles Jr. Football Association of Chicago – The program is made up of 110 football players and 40 cheer/dance participants (ages 7-15). Famous alumni include the Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade and former Ohio State/NY Giants running back Joe Montgomery. In 2004, the Robbins Eagles, for the first time in 21 years, had four participants recognized as Mid-American Little Scholars for performance in the classroom.
Greater Long Beach Pop Warner Football and Cheer of Long Beach, CA – Recognized as one of the highest quality youth football, cheer and dance programs on the west coast, the program is made up of 225 football players and 50 cheer and dance participants (ages 5-15 years) across 8 teams and 6 divisions. The program has also served as a “feeder” system to local-area high schools, including nationally ranked Poly ( Long Beach ). New England Patriots linebacker and three-time Super Bowl Champion Willie McGinest is one of the program's more prominent alumni.
To learn more about the Pop Warner Simultaneous Kickoff and programs participating in specific states across the country visit www.popwarner.com .
About Pop Warner :
Headquartered in Langhorne , Pa. , PWLS is the largest national youth football and cheerleading organization in the United States and the only youth sports organization that emphasizes academics as an equivalent to athletics. Currently there are over 380,000 children in Pop Warner organizations in 42 states, Guam , Scotland , Germany , Russia , Japan and Mexico . For More Information on Pop Warner and its programs visit www.popwarner.com .
