Pop Warner: Where grades mean more than football Allentown Redbird makes Eastern Region Scholar Team BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer Are you ready for some football? Let's see your report card first. Pop Warner, the nation's oldest and largest youth football, cheer and dance program, is also the only organization for such sports that requires its participants to maintain academic standards in order to participate. Tom O'Shaughnessy, of Upper Freehold, made the Pop Warner Little Scholars Eastern Region Scholar Team for the year 2007 for his academic excellence. Since 1929, Pop Warner's philosophy has been that athletics and scholastics go hand in hand. At every level, the organization seeks to develop well-rounded youths by teaching them the fundamentals of football, cheerleading and dance and the importance of education in an atmosphere conducive to both developing sound character and having a good time. The organization's national policy requires players to have a minimum 2.0 grade-point average to play. Beyond that, Pop Warner takes pride in recognizing its high scholastic achievers through its Little Scholars program. Upper Freehold's Tom O'Shaughnessy, 12, found out Jan. 20 that he has been selected as a member of the PopWarner Little Scholars Eastern Region Scholar Team for the year 2007. The honor means that Tom has been recognized as one of the top 35 football players from the fifth grade for 2007 in the region made up of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. Avie Sanders, the regional scholastics coordinator, said Tom should be very proud of his accomplishments. "With over 50,000 children participating in Pop Warner's Eastern Region, he has been selected to be part of a very elite group," Sanders said. Tom, who is the only Allentown Central Redbirds football player to make the Eastern Region Scholar Team, will be honored at a scholar luncheon and awards ceremony from 1-5 p.m. March 29 at the Woodcliff Lake Hilton Hotel in Woodcliff Lake. Now that he has made the Eastern Region team, Tom has earned the opportunity to achieve All-American status in the Pop Warner organization. Each year the most academically accomplished Pop Warner kids compete for All-American status. The process begins at the association level and moves up through each of the eight Pop Warner regions to the national level. Tom's application has been forwarded to Pop Warner National Headquarters and he will be under consideration for the National First TeamAllAmericans, which is made up of the top 35 football players and top 25 cheerleaders per grade in the nation, the National Second Team All Americans or the National Honorable Mention Scholars. He will find out inApril if he has made a national team. Tom made the National Second Team All Americans in 2006 and used that achievement to bolster his motivation to do better at school in 2007 in hopes of making the first national team this year. The PopWarner Little ScholarsAll-American Program requires a minimum 96 grade average, which Tom achieved, and community involvement. Tom's mother, Jackie, said she appreciates PopWarner's dedication to keeping athletics and academics on the same level in children's lives. "This is the only sport Tom plays that he needs to submit a report card for," she said. "I think it's a great way to motivate kids. And, if he wants to go to Texas, he's going to need all of the help he can get." A Texas Longhorns fan, Tom has dreams of one day playing college football while attending the University of Texas. Last season, he played right tackle and fullback for the Pee Wee team under the direction of coaches Dennis Todd and Jim O'Rourke. O'Rourke called Tom a fantastic young man. "He is a real student of the game of football as well as an excellent student in the classroom," O'Rourke said. "I've seen Tom play over the years, but this was the first year I got to coach him." O'Rourke said Tom put forth "110 percent effort" from day one. "He is a team leader and his peers look to him for his toughness, confidence and ability to stay calm in the trenches," he said. Tom's defining moment on the field happened during a game against North Edison in the Pride Bowl, according to O'Rourke. "Tom is a big kid and generally played lineman," O'Rourke said. "However, I pushed for Tom to play running back. His size and athleticism was too good to overlook." Although Tom seemed nervous about running the ball at first, he agreed to give it a try, O'Rourke said. "I called the play for Tom that day 'Tank 32,'" he said. "Tom took the ball, plowed into the line carrying three to four kids on his back and crashed to the ground." When Tom didn't get up after the play, O'Rourke ran onto the field to see what was wrong. "Tom was clutching his arm in obvious pain, but instead of telling me what hurt he said, 'Coach, did I get the first down?' From there on I knew Tom was a great team player and a tough kid." He continued, "His first reaction was not for himself, but for the good of his team. By the way, he got the first down." "Agood football player," Tom said, "not only has athletic skills but knows how to work well with a team and how to take direction from coaches." He said coaches like Todd, O'Rourke, Roger Loichle, Harry Mottershead, Jim Cadigan and David Joye have helped him learn how to run the ball and do what's necessary on the field and in life as well. "They always help me with everything," Tom said. As much as his coaches have inspired him on the field, his fifth-grade teachers Kristen Ceel and Christina Guzman inspired him in the classroom, helping him achieve the grades necessary for the Little Scholars honor, he said. "They pushed me to be a better student," he said, adding that he made honor roll and high honor roll each marking period during the last school year and has continued to improve his grades since then. Tom also thanked his parents, Jackie and Bill, for helping him with time management, homework, school projects and supporting him in his athletic endeavors. This year, "The Tank," as Tom is now known, looks forward to a spot on either the Junior Midgets or the Midgets team, depending on his weight at the start of the season on Aug. 1. O'Rourke said, "Pop Warner and the Allentown Redbirds care about our kids' minds and character, not just for their athletic abilities." O'Rourke, who has been involved with the Allentown Redbirds for eight years and has served as the organization's president for the last two, said the organization not only teaches young people about responsibility, commitment and excellence but also educates families about working together to better themselves and the community at large. "We ask each and every family member to try and donate some of their time to either coach, perform field duties or work in the concession or jock shops," he said. "It allows them to spend time with their children in activities and shows the children that their parents are interested in and want to be involved in their lives."