---

On any given Sunday this fall, local youth can be found at the Asbury Park High School football field taking part in football and cheerleading programs that offer more than just a win or a loss.

Founded in 1929, Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc., is a nonprofit organization that provides football, cheerleading and dance programs to children ages five through 16 in 42 states. It is the only youth sports organization that requires success within the classroom in order to participate, according to their website.

The Asbury Park Pop Warner program is part of the Jersey Shore Pop Warner division. It includes five levels of football and cheerleading squads; the oldest are the Junior Midgets, followed by the Junior Peewees, Mighty Mights, Peewees and Tiny Mights.

The teams practice 2 to 3 times a week and have games every Sunday. Home games are played at the Asbury Park High School Field starting at 9 a.m.

Upon registration, youth participants must provide a report card that reflects passing grades from the prior school year, said Claire Mascarenhas, one of the team mothers for the Mighty Might division her 7-year-old son plays for.

The programs offers structure, discipline, and keeps the kids off the streets, said Nereida Beatty, head cheerleading coach for the Tiny Might cheerleaders.

“Football is the ultimate team sport,” said Kyle Weedon, assistant coach for the Tiny Might football squad. “To get eleven kids to gel and trust each other is our goal. We get them to believe in themselves and it builds self confidence.”

Kids see the positive rewards for their hard work, which hopefully carries over to the classroom, Wheedon said.

At the program’s outset, there was a lot of participation, said Marcus Blackmon, president of the Jersey Shore Pop Warner Conference.

“We don’t have as much participation these days,” he said.

There is also a lack of parent participation, according to Blackmon. Beatty and other members of the organization agree.

“We need more community support,” said Beatty, who has four children of her own enrolled in the Asbury program. “We need to get more parents involved – it’s a parent program. Every parent should be here, every kid should see their parent’s in the stands supporting them, because they don’t get a lot of that around here.”

Although the program sees lower registration numbers, those involved do not lack athletic talent.

“Asbury Park is feared by other teams,” Mascarenhas said. “They come with a reputation.”

In an effort to get the word out about the organization, Mascarenhas volunteered to take charge of the Asbury Park Pop Warner website and Facebook page recently.

“We’re keeping the scores updated on the website now, there hasn’t been a previous way to get that information out,” she said. “Everybody does it genuinely for the kids.”

“It gives the kids something positive to do,” said Nikkia Jennings, who has four children, ages 8 to eleven, enrolled in both the cheerleading and football programs. “A lot of the kids that are in sports are the ones that stay positive.” Jennings also commends the coaches for their work in the program, since not all of the coaches have children of their own who partake in the activities.

“They take the kids and make them their own,” Jennings said.

If kids involved in the program have problems in school or at home, parents have been known to reach out to the Pop Warner coaches for guidance and support, Mascarenhas said.

Jennings son, Messiah, 8, plays football for the Peewee squad. He has hopes to play in the National Football League [NFL] one day.

“Taking part in the program is a nice thing,” he said. “If you want to be in the NFL you come every day and don’t talk smack to the coaches.”

At least one former member of the Asbury Park Pop Warner program has advanced to play in the NFL, according to Blackmon.

The Philadelphia eagles selected Vinny Curry, a 25-year-old Neptune native, for their defensive line in the second-round of the 2012 NFL draft, according to the team’s website. Curry played college football at Marshall University and was named the 2011 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year his senior year.

For the first time in program history, the upper level cheerleaders will complete at a regional level in the Steven M. Elser Competition on Oct. 19 at Brookdale Community College this year.

“We’re shooting for the stars,” said Topaz Portlock, a first-year cheerleading coach. More kids will be interested in the program if the level of competition increases, and Portlock is interested in building a bigger squad, she said.

“We’re trying to win,” said Jenniya Scott, 14. “To show them that Asbury has what it takes.”

————————————————————

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook and Twitter.

---