Recreation Department seeking kids for Monroe Wolverines Midget-level Pop Warner team.
By: Bill Greenwood
MONROE The Monroe Wolverines Midget-level Pop Warner football team is looking for a few good players to round out its 2007 lineup.
Mary Lange, a program supervisor at the Monroe Township Recreation Department, said the team currently has 17 members, one more than the number of players required to play a game. She said she would like to see at least five more players join the team, which would keep forfeits from occurring and allow substitutions to be made.
"If we don’t get the numbers up, it’ll be a real struggle for the team," she said.
Kathleen Fazzino, whose son Marcos will be playing midget-level football for the first time this year, agreed.
"You want to have more than just enough to run the squad," she said. "You want the kids out there to have a good time.
Ms. Lange said she believes the reason turnout so far has been low is that parents are worried their 11- through 14-year-old children will be playing against high school-age 15-year-olds, who could choose to play in Pop Warner’s Midget Division. However, she said towns need to declare whether they have any 15-year-olds playing on their teams in June, and she did not remember any being declared this year.
Ms. Lange said it is unusual for high school-age children to want to play Pop Warner football.
"The kids in Middlesex County are playing high school football if they’re 15 years old," she said. "They’re not playing Pop Warner."
In addition, she said it would not be a problem even if there were 15-year-olds playing at the Midget level this year because the maximum weight for 15-year-olds is 20 pounds lighter than that required for 11- through 14-year-olds. The Midget level accepts 11- through 14-year-olds who weigh between 105 and 160 pounds and 15-year-olds who weigh between 105 and 140 pounds.
Ms. Lange said the Midget team also has been losing players because many children who could play at the Midget level instead have chosen to play in Monroe’s new Junior-Midget level, which was introduced this year. The requirements for the Midget level partially overlap with those of the Junior-Midget level, which accepts 10- to 12-year-olds who weigh between 85 and 135 pounds and 13-year-olds who weigh between 85 and 115 pounds.
Ms. Fazzino, of Perry Avenue, said the Junior-Midget Division is no more or less safe than the Midget Division and more parents should allow their children to join the Midget team.
"The league’s been running in Monroe for 30 years," she said. "They’ve never had a Junior-Midget team before, and kids are going to get hurt no matter what team they play for. If they’re going to get hurt, they’re going to get hurt."
Ms. Lange said players should join the Midget-level team because, in addition to having fun, there are a lot of lessons to be learned and friendships to be made through team sports.
"It’s just a great way of belonging to something that’s very big right now," she said. "The kids really carry a lot of memories away from the program."
Ms. Fazzino agreed, adding that she hopes her son will learn teamwork and responsibility for his possessions from the team.
Those who wish to sign up can do so at the Monroe Township Community Center on Monmouth Road or at one of the team’s practices, which are held five nights a week from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Danny Ryan Field on North State Home Road. Registration costs $75, but financial assistance is available, Ms. Lange said.
"Whatever we’ve got to do to get them play, that’s what we’ll do," she said.
Before they will be allowed to practice, players must present a copy of their original birth certificate, a recent, wallet-sized photo, a Pop Warner medical form filled out by their doctors and two copies of their final report card from last year, according to the Monroe Wolverines Web site. Ms. Lange said each player’s grades are averaged together and the result must be at least a 70 in order for them to play.
Ms. Lange said players will be able to register for the team at least until after its first game, though she could not give a firm deadline. The eight-game season begins Aug. 25.

