Pop Warner pops West Philly team's' Disney dreams

THE 9-YEAR-OLD boys of the West Philadelphia Tarheels Pop Warner football team - who have an 11-0 record this season that includes nine shutouts - have been fighting hard with the belief that if they won regionals, they'd get to play at Walt Disney World.

But now, it's their parents who are fighting hard for them after a midseason decision, by national Pop Warner officials, to change the region's Mitey-Mites' playoffs to an invitational, killing the undefeated team's dream of playing at the Magic Kingdom.

"Everybody is upset and angry," said Anitra Bullock, whose son, Dashaun, plays for the Tarheels. "I told my son, as a parent, it's not over. I'm fighting until I can't fight anymore."

Even though the team of 17 boys won both of what should have been their regional games, teams from Burlington County and the Jersey Shore were picked to represent the Eastern Region at Disney World instead this year.

Josh Pruce, national spokesman for Pop Warner, said while the decision may not have been communicated as quickly as it should have been, it was fair.

"One of the reasons I can say this is because the only people who are complaining about this are West Philadelphia," Pruce said. "I couldn't tell you the exact reason that is. We're sorry they feel like it has happened to them."

According to Pruce, the Mitey-Mite division of Pop Warner, which includes kids who are 7, 8 and 9, is not competitive.

"It's strictly a training division for us," he said.

Prior to 2014, two Mitey-Mite teams from each of Pop Warner's eight national regions were chosen to attend "Mitey-Mite Fun Day" at Disney.

Pruce said that regions typically choose which teams go by gauging the interest of each team and picking two at random.

Last year, however, they decided to try a playoff structure to choose its teams because of the size of the region and the number of teams that wanted to participate.

It did not go well, Pruce said.

"It became very competitive very quickly and that's not what we're looking for," he said.

Despite the concerns, Pop Warner agreed to allow the playoff structure to continue again this year in the Eastern Region.

"They said, 'We're going to try it one more time and see if it works,' " Pruce said. "As soon as we got into the season, we heard from a lot of people and that's when we said, 'We're not having a playoff system, choose two teams.' "

Pruce said the decision was made by national and Eastern Region Pop Warner staff during the third week of October. When asked how that decision was communicated to those it affected most - like the Tarheel players - Pruce said the regional presidents should have told the league presidents, who should have told the association presidents, who should have told the coaches, who should have told the parents.

"It can be a little bit of a long game of telephone at that point," Pruce said.

Bryan Tucker, president of the West Philly Tarheels Youth Football and Cheerleading Association, said he only found out about the decision after the Tarheels won their regional game Nov. 7.

According to people close to the team, that's when the coaches - who did not respond yesterday to media inquiries - found out as well, when they got a call as the team walked off the field.

The Tarheels coaches broke the news to the parents and players at a meeting the Monday following their big win.

Instead of huddling to strategize that day, the young Tarheels huddled together to sob.

"The kids actually cried because that's what we've been coaching them for," Tucker said.

Bullock, said it was a day she'd rather forget.

"The coaches were crying, we were crying as parents and the children were all crying," she said. "This is definitely heartbreaking."

A man with close ties to the Tarheels who asked not to be identified said the team's issue is not so much that Pop Warner made the Mitey-Mites' Disney game invite-only, it's that the change was made midseason and the Tarheels weren't informed.

"You told 17 9-year-olds that they could achieve this when they couldn't," he said. "You're taking inner-city kids and saying it doesn't matter what accomplishments you make, you can't come down here this year.

"And the only thing they could say was 'Sorry'?" the Tarheels source said. "That's fine for me, but those kids, man, those kids."

On Twitter: @FarFarrAway

Online: ph.ly/crime

Blog: ph.ly/Delco