Stephon Mathis simply refused to lose. Because of his diligence and hard work, hundreds of kids in Allegheny County are winners.
That's because the Observatory Hill Youth Association, located in Western Pennsylvania, received approval from Pop Warner in January to join the six-team Mon River Pop Warner league. The organization will make its debut in the fall.
"I tried to start this up in 2006," Mathis said. "Finally, last November, my wife and I talked about it and we made another attempt. We're very excited about it. Working with kids is a passion of mine. All I've ever done is work with kids. There is so much violence in the world and this is a chance to do something positive. There's plenty to be passionate about here with Pop Warner."
When Mathis was in the early phases of applying for membership into Pop Warner, he turned to USA Football for guidance. USA Football is the national governing for youth and amateur football in the country and is funded by the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
"Last fall, we bought the coaches playbooks and registered with USA Football," Mathis said. "There's an interactive playbook also available, which we utilized. Really, all the tools gave us ideas."
Starting a new organization is not an easy task. Especially when the expectations are to feature 140 football players between the ages of 7-15 and four cheerleading squads as well.
"We want to touch as many youths in the area as possible," Mathis said. "We're hoping we can get to the majority of them and give them something positive to do. We're hoping to reach the limit for registration for football and cheerleading. You'll never reach all the kids, but this gives them the opportunity to join up with an organization they can be proud of."
Like USA Football, the Observatory Hill Youth Association stresses character and leadership skills.
"What I love about Pop Warner is the structure," Mathis said. "This organization will have structure and leadership committed to helping the kids. It's going to be about more than football. It's going to be very big on academics and discipline."
While the organization is well on its way, there is still so much work to be done. Mathis feels like he's been going 180 miles per hour since he launched the idea, and he couldn't be more thrilled.
"There are so many things we need to keep doing," Mathis said. "We need grant money for things like equipment. We're reaching out to all the local businesses and hoping they'll contribute. We're doing all kind of fund-raising. We've made T-shirts. I've been trading phone calls and e-mails with people trying to raise money. I helped to put a great board together. We have volunteers giving their time and energy. We have flyers going around to all the businesses.
"We have an operating budget and some of the money has come out-of-pocket to start. My wife helped put the web site together and we have someone taking pictures. We're moving along well, but with any start-up, we need some funds. It's been a lot of fun to get this process going. I'm excited about the fall when the kids really start participating."
Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.