Two Pop Warner Members Among Four Finalists for Kellogs Frosted Flakes Earn Your Stripes Youth Achievement Award

JACKSONVILLE, FL (MAY 18, 2009) – Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes® Earn Your Stripes™ program and ESPN.com have selected four youth athletes as finalists in the Earn Your Stripes™ Award Shorts for a chance to receive the second annual Youth Achievement Award at the 2009 ESPY Breakfast.

Of the four finalists, two are participants in the Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. program. Clay White, an 11-year old Pop Warner football player from Bryan, TX, and M’Liyah Mitchell, a 14-year old Pop Warner cheerleader for the Sweetwater Eagles in Jacksonville, FL are both vying for the chance to receive the Youth Achievement Award from Pop Warner National Sponsor Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes®.

Starting May 18, 2009, videos of Clay and M’Liyah will be posted on the Earn Your Stripes ESPN hub at www.espn.com/earnyourstripes.  Watch the videos online and vote for your favorite finalist from May 18-June 15!  The videos celebrate each athlete’s passion for his or her favorite sport. At the end of the month-long voting period, the finalist with the most votes will receive the Youth Achievement Award at the 2009 ESPY Breakfast in July.

Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes® selected the finalists based on an essay submission and phone interview process. The finalists were nominated from the Earn Your Stripes™ partner organizations: Pop Warner Little Scholars, Little League International, and Girls on the Run International.  Now in its second year, the award was created to celebrate kids who get out and work hard by playing their favorite sport.

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Clay White (Bryan, TX):

Clay White, an 11-year old Pop Warner football player from Bryan, TX, is one of four finalists.  Clay who has enjoyed playing football as a running back, defensive end and linebacker also suffers from pulmonary stinosis, a heart defect.  His doctor has told him that he is going to have to find another activity besides football in order to live a healthy and active lifestyle because he needs to have two heart valves replaced.

Recognizing that this was going to be the last year he would be able to play, Clay took on the mindset of enjoying the game and set a goal to impact his new team. Clay met the challenge by balancing his schoolwork, farmwork and football activities and quickly emerged as one of his team’s leaders whose work ethic quickly rubbed off on his teammates.  Pop Warner is encouraging all of its 400,000 participants and over 10 million alumni and supporters to support Clay in his candidacy for the Youth Achievement Award recipient at the ESPY’s by going online and voting for Clay. 

Watch Clay's Video and Vote Today!

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M’Liyah Mitchell (Jacksonville, FL):

M’Liyah Mitchell, a 14-year old Pop Warner cheerleader for the Sweetwater Eagles in Jacksonville, FL, is one of four finalists.  This season M’Liyah demonstrated her commitment to teamwork and set a goal of choreographing a routine for her cheer squad.  Through her positive attitude and working with her teammates, M’Liyah’s cheer squad began to perform better together and went on to win the city championship. 

By accomplishing her goal, M’Liyah developed confidence in herself and an ability to lead her teammates. Pop Warner is encouraging all of its 400,000 participants and over 10 million alumni and supporters to support M’Liyah in her candidacy for the Youth Achievement Award recipient at the ESPY’s by going online and voting for M’Liyah. 

Watch M'Liyah's Video and Vote Today!