Garden Grove Bulldogs 2014 Pop Warner season is in full swing as players practiced with pads and helmets for the first time on Aug. 1.
This year’s opening day ceremonies are set for Saturday Aug. 23, which will include food, scrimmages and prizes being raffled off.
Opening day will mark the start of a record-breaking season for the Bulldogs, whose coaching staff has done everything in its power to ensure a safe time for all players.
Garden Grove Bulldogs 2014 Pop Warner season is in full swing as players practiced with pads and helmets for the first time on Aug. 1.
This year’s opening day ceremonies are set for Saturday Aug. 23, which will include food, scrimmages and prizes being raffled off.
Opening day will mark the start of a record-breaking season for the Bulldogs, whose coaching staff has done everything in its power to ensure a safe time for all players.
“Our coaches have worked extremely hard this off season by getting certified through USA Football's Heads UP tackling and safety program,” said Tom Goode, president of the Garden Grove Bulldogs.
“National Pop Warner now mandates that at least five coaches from each division be USA Football Heads Up Certified,” said Goode. “The game has to change and we are part of that change. Retraining coaches to teach football a different way is tough but our coaches have met the challenge.”
Currently, the entire Bulldog coaching staff is Heads UP certified.
Despite the recent safety issues with tackle football the Bulldog family has had plenty of registration.
This year the Bulldogs have 10 tackle football teams, which amounts to about 250 players, and four cheer divisions, which is about 75 cheerleaders.
Also, the Bulldogs have added a new Challenger program to their family, which is aimed at children with physical or emotional disabilities, and even wheelchair participants are encouraged to join.
The Bulldogs’ website states: “The Challenger Program is a non-competitive program and no score is kept. The games are modeled after a typical Pop Warner game with warm-ups, coin toss, etc.”
This year’s abundance of new players has led to the growth of the Bulldog family, but it has also put a strain on the program’s board of directors and coaching staff.
“The increase in registration has put a strain on our board. The more kids you have the more work it is. We have an outstanding group of selfless volunteers that put in an extreme amount of hours and hard work [but] more kids [means] more equipment and more paperwork,” said Goode.
Their efforts don’t end with registering players and handing out equipment. For the past five years, the program has had the daunting task of appropriating quality fields for the teams to play and practice on, which is not easy or cheap.
“We as a league pay to landscape the practice and playing fields at Garden Grove Park,” said Goode. “This year we floated 100 tons of sand, spread 1,500 pounds of grass seed, and Synagro donated 25 tons of topper fertilizer.”
In total, Garden Grove’s Pop Warner spent $10,000 on filed repairs for the season. They were not left solely to their own devices, and received help from both the city and specialty companies.
“The City of Garden Grove graciously helped us this season by purchasing a huge portion of the grass seed,” said Goode. “Pro Turf Specialties provided the labor and equipment to repair the field, and Public Works did a great job preparing the fields for repairs.”
“The Parks and Recreation Department, the Public Works Department and the city of Garden Grove shows our program each year an amazing amount of support. Without their support our program would not exist,” said Goode.
This week the Bulldogs, continue with their preseason conditioning and workouts.
The first official day to scrimmage is Aug.14, and all practices, scrimmages, and games are played at Garden Grove Park.
