History & Philosophy of Oakmont Pop Warner
Oakmont Pop Warner was first established in 1966 as the Westminster Chargers and as a football-only program. With the help of dedicated volunteers and support from the local communities, the Oakmont Pop Warner program has grown significantly since our inaugural year, and in the fall of 2005 entered its 40th year of competition.
Our program is based at Oakmont Regional High School in Northern Worcester County and is open to participants from Ashburnham
and Westminster (Hubbardston also welcome). We are members of the Central Massachusetts Pop Warner League.
(www.cmpwfl.com)
We offer both cheering and football for children between the ages of
5 and 15 years old, and typically we field a football and cheering team at each of the
6 levels of competition in the Central Massachusetts Pop
Warner League. We have approximately 200 children
participating annually.
The Oakmont Pop Warner program has four basic
goals for participants in the program:
- Introduce participants to the basics of football and cheering in a way that prepares them for the future
- Develop well-rounded young men and women by exposing them to the fundamental values of self discipline, teamwork, friendship, leadership, and sportsmanship
- Encourage our athletes to excel academically with support from the National Pop Warner Little Scholars Program
- Take part in the fun and excitement of competition, be it football or cheering
Oakmont Pop Warner is a family oriented organization with numerous planned activities that allow families to develop life-long friendships and bonds with other families in the organization. We hold monthly organizational meetings throughout the year at the
Colonial Hotel in Gardner (on the Westminster line) on the 1st Thursday of each month. The preseason
typically begins on August 1st, and the regular season usually begins the 1st
weekend in September and lasts for 9 weeks. The four upper
levels of football and cheering teams can qualify for the post-season which may include Central Massachusetts, New England Regional and even National Pop Warner events.
THE 2006
SEASON
The 2006 season found us with our first
year of including the Tiny Mite level (5 & 6 year olds) for
both football and cheerleading -- giving us 7 football teams
and 5 squads of cheerleaders -- and sending our Midget
cheerleading squad to represent us at Nationals for the
first time in Charger history. Other highlights
include:
Work in progress
The 2005 Season
The organization fielded 6 football teams and 4 cheerleading squads in 2005. Some of the highlights include:
- Our Jr Midget Cheering Squad placed 1st at the CMPW League Cheerleading Competition qualifying them to move on to the New
England Regional Cheering Competition where they placed 4th in their division. Congratulations on a job well
done.
- Our Midget Football team ended the regular season as the Central Mass Division 2 North Champs. At the Regional Qualifier game they lost a hard fought game to
Tantasqua. The game was closer than the final score indicates. Great effort by
this small group of kids.
- Our Jr Midget Football team ended the regular season with a victory and perfect 9-0
record and are the Central Mass Division 2 North Champs. These Jr Midgets then won a thrilling Regional qualifier game 26-20 over a tough Charlton team. Our
1st lead of the game came with about 2 minutes left in the 4th Quarter. This game named them the Central Mass Jr Midget Division 2 Champions and earned them a spot in the
New England Regional Playoffs. It's been since the mid-90's that Oakmont has
sent a football team to the regionals. Congratulations!!!!!
The 2004 Season
The 2004 season was a very successful year
for Oakmont Pop Warner. Following are several of the selected
highlights:
- Two student athletes named 2nd Team Scholastic All Americans
- Midget Cheering: 1st Place Central Mass Pop Warner Cheering
Competition
- Midget Cheering: 4th Place New England Regional Pop
Warner Cheering Competition
- Midget Football: Central Mass Division 1 Superbowl Champ
- Jr Midget Cheering: 3rd Place Central Mass Pop Warner
Cheering Competition
- Peewee Cheering: 1st Place New England Invitational
Cheer and Dance Competition
- Peewee Cheering: 3rd Place Central Mass Pop Warner Cheering
Competition
- Peewee Football: Central Mass Division 1 Superbowl Runner-up
- Jr Peewee 1 Football: Central Mass Division 1 Playoffs
The organization fielded six football teams (two Jr Peewee
teams) and five cheering squads in 2004. The 2004 season was very successful and produced three playoff teams from Oakmont Pop Warner. The Junior Pee Wee 1 team led by head coach Dave Zbikowski played in the first round of the playoffs but lost a good game. The JPW1 team improved from the previous season at 0-9 to the 2004 season of 6-3 and a playoff game. The Pee Wee team led by John Harrington also had a very good season and made it through the playoffs to the Superbowl where they lost, but also had a great game and overall a very good season. Finally in 2004, the Midget team led by head coach Chris Redkey won their Superbowl which capped off a remarkable season for this team. Congratulations to Coach Redkey, his staff and players for winning another Superbowl!
In 2004, five of our student-athletes were nominated for
All American National Scholars. The final results will be
announced by April 1st, 2005. Additionally, we recognized
about 90 of our programs top scholars at the Annual Awards
Night held in January, including the top scholar at each
level of cheering and football who received a savings bond
and will have their name engraved on a plaque and placed
in the school they attend until December of 2005. All participants
also receive a sweatshirt and yearbook at the Annual Awards
Night in addition to being able to keep their game jersey
or turtleneck/bodysuit from the regular season.
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