New mitey mite team added to local Pop Warner
For Larry Cascio’s mitey mite football team, which is made up of
players ages 7 to 9, it all starts with the stance.
With one hand on the ground, the other hand tucked away near the
hip, and with the head staring straight at the opponent, the
three-point stance can either provide an explosive burst off the
line of scrimmage, or leave you flat on your back.
New mitey mite team added to local Pop Warner
For Larry Cascio’s mitey mite football team, which is made up of players ages 7 to 9, it all starts with the stance.
With one hand on the ground, the other hand tucked away near the hip, and with the head staring straight at the opponent, the three-point stance can either provide an explosive burst off the line of scrimmage, or leave you flat on your back.
It’s the absolute basics, no doubt, but if it’s done properly, it’s the foundation for any football team.
“We’re just trying to teach the fundamentals,” Cascio said. “The stance, almost everything they do is based on the three-point stance. Off that stance, there’s blocking, there’s tackling. From there, they’ll run the plays.”
Laying that foundation while supplying the basics is the cornerstone to any strong youth program.
Noticing a high demand in the San Benito area for youth football, the Hollister Vikings Youth Football and Cheer program has introduced a second mitey mite team this year, which will not only meets the growing need of interested parties, but also instills the basics of the game to a greater number of players.
Cascio will head coach one of those mitey mite teams, while Jerry Buzzetta will man the other.
The two head coaches will have a combined 60 players on their squad, approximately 38 of whom are new to the game.
Despite adding a second team to the 7- to 9-year-old age group, the Vikings, which are part of Pop Warner, had little trouble filling the roster.
“It was full before we even opened it,” said Tom Vivian, publicity director for the Hollister Vikings. “One of the biggest problems with Pop Warner in the past was it took forever for a kid to get in. We want to get enough teams to meet that demand.”
Vivian said the goal is to add one team, maybe two, per year until waiting lists are non-existent.
Football athletic director Scott Reynolds said he knew of parents that had waited two or three years to get their child into the Pop Warner program.
“They were very thankful, calling me up at home even, that they finally got in,” Reynolds said.
“Typically in the past, youth football was for middle school kids,” Reynolds added. “We’re starting to see, with soccer starting at an early age, youth football is starting at an early age as well.
“It’s simple demand. We’ve always had one level for them to play … but we have the support from the community to continue to expand.”
Given their recent success at the national level, the Hollister Vikings Youth Football and Cheer program doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon, as some 240 boys and girls, compiling six football teams and five cheer squads, filled each and every crevice on the back fields of R.O. Hardin Elementary School in Hollister Tuesday night.
Since 2000, the Vikings have sent four football teams and eight cheerleading squads to nationals, with the 2000 and 2007 Vikings football teams emerging victorious in the national championship.
Any problems with expansion will always revolve around financial figures, however. President Larry Murphy said it costs $8,000 to $10,000 to outfit a team, from helmets to pads to uniforms, and it costs another $1,000 per player who’s going to nationals.
“We help as much as we can, and the Peninsula Pop Warner (league) helps out when they can,” Murphy said. “But the community of Hollister is great. They do a great job of supporting their teams.”
Fields also noted another issue. Although the Vikings added a mitey mite team, lack of numbers cut the midget team, which is made up of players ages 11 to 15.
“San Benito has such a great high school program, those tweeners want to move to the high school team,” Reynolds said.
“Usually if they’re big enough to play midget (football), they can play freshman or junior varsity ball with the ‘Balers,” Vivian said. “The biggest limitation is space. If we fielded a midget team, then we would have been pretty tight.”
Vivian felt the benefits outweigh the costs, though, as the Vikings are a values-based organization, teaching respect and perseverance, among other things. The league also has a scholastic requirement, where players must receive a C-average in school just to step onto the field.
With last year’s national championship win from the junior pee wees, the Vikings will raise the bar in terms of play as well, moving from Division II to Division I. Playing teams from Oak Grove, Santa Clara and the East Bay, Hollister will compete against more “metropolis-area” teams, Reynolds said.
“It’s a great test for the coaches and for the kids,” Reynolds added. “And our girls are fired up to go back to nationals.”
On Aug. 16, a scrimmage will be played at Oak Grove, and a jamboree is slated for Aug. 31 at Hollister’s Andy Hardin Stadium.
By then, hopefully, plays will be set and the foundation, for the most part, will have been laid.
Using success measures at the mitey mite level, Buzzetta, who is in his second year as head coach – his 14th with Pop Warner – places the importance on getting first downs and controlling the ball. His motivation, he says, is teaching the basics.
“We’re trying to teach them to keep their focus and minimize the mental mistakes,” Buzzetta said. “It’s really teaching fundamental football, and we’re just having fun.”
