Future football players took to the gridiron Saturday during
scrimmages between Santa Cruz, Campbell, Santa Teresa and every
Gilroy Browns Pop Warner football team, except for the Tiny Mites
(5-7 year olds).
Gilroy – Future football players took to the gridiron Saturday during scrimmages between Santa Cruz, Campbell, Santa Teresa and every Gilroy Browns Pop Warner football team, except for the Tiny Mites (5-7 year olds).
The games showcased athletes that will be competing in TCAL games just years from now.
Rich Salazar, Gilroy’s Pop Warner president and coach of the Pee Wee division (9-12 year olds), said the event was a good chance to let the kids compete and try out plays they have been practicing.
“All in all they did good, they’re learning a new system,” Salazar said.
Every team from Gilroy will run a Wing-T formation offense in order to build consistency and familiarity throughout the ranks, with the goal being to prepare kids for the style of football they will play in high school.
“We’re teaching them our part,” Salazar said. “We try to keep a lot of our plays like what the high school is running. Some kids from our program – the majority go to Gilroy High. Some will go to Palma, Valley Christian and Anchorpoint.”
Pop Warner doesn’t just focus on learning the game of football though. Every player is required to maintain a GPA above 2.0 in the classroom in order to play on the field.
“Our biggest goal in Pop Warner is academics go hand in hand with sports,” Salazar said. “Our kids have to have a 2.0 and we recognize them for scholastics. If they don’t have a 2.0, they get held out of games.”
The first games of the season will be played at this Saturday’s jamboree at Gilroy High School. Every division will take part in games running from 8am to 6pm and teams from Gilroy will play squads from Monterey, Salinas and San Lorenzo. This weekend’s games will be the only events charging admission for the season. The goal is to help raise money for the league.
