Pop Warner Football: Some of that old-time football

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - Opening Day for the Costa Mesa Pop Warner Football

league included a variety of happenings behind the scenes, the background

to the scrimmage games with Huntington Beach at Costa Mesa High Saturday.

In its quest to return to the old-school lessons of the game, Costa

Mesa Pop Warner began its season with a unique brand of hard work, not

just by the players, but from volunteers, coaches and cheerleaders.

While the helmets crashed, parents worked the snack bar and silent

auction booths. The Costa Mesa Mustangs rely on fundraising to pave the

way for football game sites, uniforms or any other needs.

The league has grown almost 50% this year, president Susan Rice said,

and so there are more costs.

“The 9- 10- and 11-year-olds, all of sudden they’re coming out of the

woodwork,” Rice said. “They want to play football. The sad thing is we

don’t have the field space to accommodate them. Unfortunately, this year

we’ve had to cut back on registration. We’re hoping the city can help us

out and give us more room somewhere.”

Rice also said the silent auction results as a major factor in the

fundraising. Ann Marie Boulger and Terrilee Stevenson arrived to open the

silent auction booth at 9:15 a.m. They each have a son who plays for the

league.

“It gets to be real hectic right when we’re about to close,” Boulger

said. “This is popular. It does well for the league.”

Meanwhile, as the Mustangs’ Mighty Mites division squad faced the

Huntington Beach Chargers, the cheerleaders stretched and sprawled into

their stunts, smiling with refreshing energy.

They have been working just as hard as the football players in

preparation for the upcoming season, Costa Mesa Cheer Coordinator

Marianne Clever said.

“Conditioning for cheerleaders is the same as football players’

training,” Clever said. “They have to put in 20 hours conditioning before

they can do any stunting. Just like the football players have to give 20

hours before they do any contact. This is the cheerleaders’ scrimmage

too, their chance to come out and be in the correct formation.”

Costa Mesa’s cheer squad had two teams finish second place in the

Orange County Championships last year and the squads advanced to

competition in Hawaii. The Mustangs’ Pee Wee girls finished second in

Hawaii. The success has resulted in an increase of girls who registered

to cheer this year.

Clever said, Newport Beach residents have registered as the league is

open to children from that area as well as Costa Mesa.

The increase in more football players caused Rice to revive the

importance of the fundamentals, so that the children receive the

qualities of the game.

“We’re trying to go back to the roots of the program,” Rice said. “Pop

Warner is to teach the fundamentals of football, to give these kids some

positive influences to take with them. It teaches them respect for

authority and respect for teammates. They learn the rules. They actually

learn how to play the game. It’s not so much about being the best out

there, it’s about doing it right.”