|
Dear Parents and/or Guardians,
Welcome to the 2008 Pacifica Tigersharks Pop Warner Football and Cheer season. This upcoming season promises to be an exciting year for you and your children. We’ve been working hard since the end of the 2007 season in October to make improvements in all aspects of the program so that your experience is a positive one. I’m confident that at the end of this season, you will agree that this season has been one of the best ones yet.
For starters, we will have a brand new state-of-the-art stadium to play our home games in. Terra Nova High School is currently in the process of rebuilding the stadium as we speak. Every single item in the stadium, from the field to the bleachers to the bathrooms to the landscaping has been ripped out. When this project is done, you will see a brand new synthetic football field and track, new, larger bleachers, a brand new snack shack, new bathrooms and many other great features to make your experience at the Tigersharks games unlike any time before.
To go with this new look, we’ve purchased brand new football uniforms for the Jr. Pee Wee, Pee Wee, Jr. Midget and Midget teams. We had an example of the uniform at the 2007 Awards Ceremony and the feedback we have received has all been positive. I think that everyone will enjoy the new look.
Most importantly, however, is the coaching staffs. Not only have we made personnel changes to our staff, but we’ve returned back to the way we’ve done things in the past. We’ve partnered with Coach Gray at Terra Nova High School to do a comprehensive training program for our coaches. Our coaches meet every week with Coach Gray to learn the tools needed to teach your children the proper and safe way of doing things, from the most basic things, such as proper stances, to more complex tasks, such as the proper and safest way to make a tackle. It is our belief that in order for us to teach the game of football, we need to understand it as best as we can first. We cannot teach something that we do not know ourselves. Our coaches have committed to this training program and have been working hard this entire off-season to better themselves, the organization and ultimately, your children.
In addition to the techniques being taught in this training, we will also put together a program that will be run at every level, from the Tiny-Mites all the way up to the Midget team. This program, from system philosophy to practice structure, will be a scaled down version of the Terra Nova Varsity program and will be scaled down appropriately for every level. The purpose is to make the transition from each level of play a seamless one, not just during their Pop Warner careers, but for their High School careers as well. I’m excited with the commitment that the coaching staffs have shown this off-season and can’t wait to see them put it into action come August 1st.
In addition to our football staff, our cheer staffs are working just as hard. They’ve been preparing for the upcoming season as well, planning routines, stunts, recruiting new coaches and new cheerleaders as well. While many of our cheerleaders that have been with us since age 5 are now leaving the program to enter the high school programs, we look to continue the solid tradition of Tigersharks Cheer.
We are also introducing a new chapter of Tigersharks football this year. For the first time ever, we will be offering and hosting a Flag Football league sometime in the May or June time frame. We are still in the process of ironing out the details, but more information regarding this will be coming out shortly. Please be sure to check the website calendar for updates regarding the Flag Football league.
As you know, volunteering and fundraising is a natural cost of doing business in a non-profit organization, such as the Pacifica Tigersharks. We realize that you, as parents and/or guardians, are tired of the same methods of fundraising (candy sales, cookie dough, etc). This year we’ve come up with some new and exciting ways to raise funds, including hosting a Carnival, in connection with Butler Amusements, during the Memorial Weekend. We hope that we can count on you to not only attend the Carnival, but we are counting on you to help spread the word. We need volunteers to put posters up in the store fronts of the many local businesses throughout Pacifica. We will also be selling tickets at the three major shopping centers (Fairmont, Pacific Manor and Linda Mar) and we are in need of volunteers to help us with that, too. It is a quick and fun way to use the volunteer hours that you are required to work. If this is something that you are able to help with, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Heather Campagna at fromangels@sbcglobal.net.
As you can see, it has been a very busy off-season for us and we’re not done yet. We’re committed to making your Pop Warner experience the best ever and we’re doing everything we can to make that possible. I encourage you to offer any feedback, positive or negative, so that we can be sure that what we’re doing is in line with what you expect.
Here’s to a successful and memorable 2008 season! Remember... Today is a great day to be a Tigershark!
Sincerely,
Dave Mercurio
President
Pacifica Tigersharks Pop Warner Football & Cheer
|
