Rams assistant coach Jay Cox urges Bernard Martin (l) and Josef Shealy (r) to play tough defense. The Rams are in the Junior Midget division which consists of kids ages 10 to 13.

What do Donnie Abraham, Stephen Davis, Lamont Hall, and Willie Williams have in common? For starters, they’re all on NFL rosters, but even more interestingly they all got their starts in the SC Pop Warner Football organization. Long before these NFL athletes were in the NFC South or AFC Central, they were in the Mity Mites or Junior Midgets playing on high school practice fields or elementary school playgrounds throughout SC.

Head coach Willie Cornelius calls a time–out before David Cox (#35) and Steven Lawson (#36) try to make a goal–line stand. Pop Warner may technically be little league, but it is serious business. Players must maintain a 2.0 GPA in school or obtain approval from a guidance counselor to suit up. They must also get a complete physical and provide a birth certificate before they attend the first practice.

Coaches aren’t drawing plays in the sand and they motivate and teach with all the passion of any coach roaming the sidelines in the SEC. They’re tough and their players are even tougher. This isn’t flag football. The hits are real.

Pop Warner football is a national phenomenon and has about 380,000 players, cheerleaders, and dancers. SC League vice–president Fristella Cornelius says SC teams with winning records at the end of the season in November will travel to bowl games in NC to face teams from as far away as New York, Texas, and California. Kids at these bowl games will get to march in parades and attend parties. It isn’t the Parade of Roses or the Orange Bowl, but for these kids the experience is unforgettable.

For more information visit www.popwarner.com.