a
new league pops up
As the sporting world got ready for American Football’s
biggest night of the year, Super Bowl XXXVIII at the Reliant Stadium,
some of Scotland’s young gridiron wannabees brave the wintry
elements at Wishaw Sports Centre to launch the UK’s first
under 16 Pop Warner League.
This junior kitted version of the game has been
an integral element of the sport in the US since 1929 providing
youth football and cheerleading dance programmes in 41 States and
several countries around the world.
At the moment the programme caters for 360,000 young
people ranging from ages 5 to 16 years old.
And today(Sunday Feb 1st), this version of this
popular innovation which is run by the Scottish Athletic Union,
in Association with Pop Warner USA, officially touched down in Scotland
today ( Sunday) as four teams, Bannerman High School Wildcats, Glasgow
Tigers, North Lanarkshire Rams and Clyde Valley Falcons contested
the first round matches.
Said SAU/Pop Warner Scotland Commisioner Juan Renau,:
“It has been two years putting together all these meetings
involving ourselves in the SAU, talking to people in the United
States in the Amateur Athletic Union and the Pop Warner Secretary.
“So to see all these kids here playing full
contact American football -- I think it's fantastic.”
“We have a very good future with the Flag
Football and the Scottish Flag Football Association. It has done
really well and the thing is we can be a step in the middle to help
these kids move from there to the kitted football and after that
to the junior and so forth.”
“At least when these kids play Senior football
in Scotland, they will know the game inside out. And will be possible
to get a couple of stars like Scott Couper like before.”
He added: “It has been two years of planning,
putting application forms in the United States and things like that
and finally we have got four teams, 12 kids in each team and we
are trying to see if the Americans can help us with was more things
as well.”
“The people we have been talking to have been
unbelievable, the Secretary Director John Butler, and Pam Marshall
the Director of Volunteers for the AAU in the United States have
been more than supportive.”
“They have been sending us information that
we need and have been with us all the way through. And I think that
it is going to continue for a few years-I hope.”
“We also have a lot of people here, all the
coaches in the Pop Warner. It has been great because these people
have been putting together all these things so we can make it happen
today.”
“We have four teams and we have already had
phone calls from Aberdeen asking for information and things like
that, so we hope that by next year we will have two Divisions for
16 years and under Pop Warner League.”
For more information on Pop Warner and the SAU/Pop Warner League,
log onto http://www.sausports.com
or http://www.popwarner.com
For reports from the SAU Pop Warner
Scotland League Season, Click
Here
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