Each December thousands of our student-athletes arrive in Orlando for the annual Pop Warner Super Bowl and National Cheer & Dance Championships. While the goal for most of the teams is to head home with a national championship, the beauty of the week is something simpler.
I see it on the faces of the kids as they walk into the massive Camping World Stadium and look around and realize it is where NFL and college players have played, or when they take a deep breath and run onto what feels like a Broadway stage at the Orange County Convention Center to begin the most important routine of their young lives.
You see it in the groups of friends rushing to the next ride at the exclusive Pop Warner party at Universal.
The week, for me, is a wonderful reminder about what our mission is: creating opportunities for kids to create memories. As adults, it's important to never forget that, whether prepping for a national title or competing in October against a local rival. What we do is for the kids and as adults our job should be to simply set the stage, teach, set the example and get out of the way.
It should also be ensuring as many kids who want to participate get that chance.
We saw an increase in participation in Pop Warner this past season and we’re excited for next year. To help ease for more parents, we’re joining other youth sports leaders to support the passage of an important piece of legislation.
It seems there are few issues that bring politicians across the aisle to work together these days. Giving kids the opportunity to participate in sports and providing their parents some financial relief in paying for those sports is one such cause. The bipartisan Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act will help families save money by expanding pre-tax medical accounts that cover disease diagnosis and treatment expenditures to reimburse sports-related payments. Families would be reimbursed for items like registration fees, equipment, and camps. You can
learn more here.
As we gather to celebrate the holidays and prepare for a new year, I want to say thank you to the thousands of volunteers and families who make Pop Warner what it is and what it has been for nearly 100 years.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year,
Jon Butler