norwalk pop warner

My name is Tonia McMillian and I am the Team Manager for the Norwalk Pop Warner Knights. We are the Midgets Division, ages 13-15. We have an undefeated record for this season and recently became League Champs in our Division. We were schedule to play for the Division Title this coming Sunday vs. North Long Beach in Costa Mesa. We had the rug pulled from under us when it was discovered that one of our lower division teams had an illegal player on their team. Since we belong to the Orange Empire Conference, their rules say that if any falsification of players is discovered, then the entire League "may" be imposed with suspensions and fines. We (the parents and the coaches) find this rule harsh and cruel. It punishes children for what adults do. Our team is clean and have worked very, very hard to get where we are today. This has crushed the boys spirits and it's certainly not fair to them. I do not wish this on any one. You have no idea how hard is was for me to explain this to my son and seeing the disappointment on his face. Being the Team Mom, I have grown to love these boys like my own. We have spent most of free time together since July. How can a rule override the feelings of children? This rule is not fair and needs to be amended. Our boys are champions and need to have their day on the football field which they so much deserve. They've worked for it and I believe they should have their turn. For many of them, this is their last year as they go on to play High School football. The coaches and staff have worked diligently and unrelentlessly this entire season. The parents have been supportive and there! At this level, you rarely see stands filled with supporters. Now, to be just kicked out, just cannot be the right thing to do when it involves children. This is child abuse.

Tonia McMillian
MCMILLIANT@AOL.COM

"Keep It Real"

Yes it might seem harsh but in the end it is reality. You mentioned that "We have spent most of free time together since July." Well by that it sounds like your team broke the rules because teams are not allowed to meet in July. When there is smoke there is fire. Sorry you had to explain to 13,14,15 year olds the reality of cheating but they are kids and they will certainly learn from the mistakes that adults made. It is time that Norwalk Pop Warner gets run by people in the community rather than carpetbaggers from everywhere else. No program is perfect but it takes some thinking to cheat like this.

Your kids are still champions, but this is a life lesson fair or not. The league should be glad that OEC did not kick them out because then you would have to join with the Saints

I agree with you Tonia, it is very sad and disappointing. The boys earned their spot rightfully and do NOT deserve to have it taken away. And to me it sounds like "OCJAFF Dad" has a chip on his shoulder. Get a life and keep your negativity to yourself. By the way "OCJAFF" the boys can be friends anytime or month of the year.

that's horrible. a friend of mine who plays there is really upset

I have no chip or an axe to grind. I hear all sorts of stories coming from people in the community, smoke there is fire. I heard how teams in norwalk were being kept from playoffs because of unpaid monies to oec. That is not how it works. Time to get some new leadership. Sorry the kids got denied by this, but cheaters never prosper.

Child abuse?! You're a f***ing MORON.

OEC didn't concern themselves with teams like Norwalk and Long Beach until they started winning games. It scared the heck out of them that both teams in the bowl game are not "ideal" OEC teams. OEC wants to send the privileged kids of OC to Florida to represent them. If North Long Beach wins, they will find a way to get them out too. The NW midget team had no idea about the illegal player on the lower division team and were not involved.

To Santa Margarita or whichever team takes Norwalk's place.. good luck in a game you don't deserve to be in. Hope that feels good. Norwalk Midget team is undefeated and therefore beat every team competing to take its place and they did so legally.

Keep telling yourself that... like it makes a difference. And stop playing the pitty bit. Norwalk is way different than North Long Beach. North Long Beach has sent 2 teams 2 Florida 2 years in a row. So that angle does not work for you either. Someone tried to pull a fast one and they got busted for it. Deal with it and make sure whomever is doing your sign ups is doing it right. Again sorry the kids get the bad end of the deal on this one. If you don't like the way it is done in the OEC. dump Pop Warner and come over to Junior All American

OCJAFF Dad wrote:

Yes it might seem harsh but in the end it is reality. You mentioned that "We have spent most of free time together since July." Well by that it sounds like your team broke the rules because teams are not allowed to meet in July.

Im pretty sure they can meet for a parent meeting...and that is usually in July being that practice starts Aug. 1st.

I think OCJAF is making a good point. A Meeting is allowed but the original poster stating most free time since July gives the impression of considerable time spent together. OCJAF was stating a rule. meetings take maybe an hour and a half.

OCJAF Dad you're an idiot. A response to your quote "cheaters never prosper." The team that cheated should learn the life lesson. You cannot be that stupid, can you?

Why don't you tell us what else you know since you spend so much time talking about something you aren't involved in.

And to the Commish, as someone stated earlier, the boys on any given team can be friends and hang out in any month of the year that they choose to. Come on now and don't participate in the stupidity of OCJAF.

a fan, What your not realizing is the more you test the rules the more you expose yourself to get caught or held accountable. Play by the rules and all these posts never even happen. Its the parents and the coaches that stole this season from the boys not the OEC.

Response to OCJAF Dad wrote:

OCJAF Dad you're an idiot. A response to your quote "cheaters never prosper." The team that cheated should learn the life lesson. You cannot be that stupid, can you?
Why don't you tell us what else you know since you spend so much time talking about something you aren't involved in.
And to the Commish, as someone stated earlier, the boys on any given team can be friends and hang out in any month of the year that they choose to. Come on now and don't participate in the stupidity of OCJAF.

Trust me I am not an idiot. I did not come on to a public website and air my leagues dirty laundry looking for a pity party, someone else did. This is not the Norwalk Pop Warner Message board site. Get over yourself. What did you want everyone to say? your right! Not gonna happen. Somebody in your league screwed up and it was not just one person. There is no way the powers that be in your league did not know what was happening. When OEC is done with their investigation do not be surprised if more teams were not doing it. The reality is if people knew what was happening and they did, they are only upset that they were caught. You don't have to go calling people names for not seeing your side of things. The previous poster said it best, good job MY KIDS DAD

Hey everyone! Tonia, I am so sorry to hear that. Sometimes others decisions are just not fair. Maybe your team / leauge could file a grievance? I am not sure how all of this works , this is my 2nd year involved. I have seen great friendships come out of football, people that you might not even guess are now a part of your everyday life in non-football season. There is nothing wrong with meeting before "offical" practice starts as long as you are not practicing. Some of our boys like to work out together like running, push ups, sit ups, pull ups, not as a team but as friends, so does that mean that we should be banned?? No,, they just want to keep in shape. Just my 2 cents...

ocjaaf I understand what your saying but OEC doesn't want norwalk in. The first NLB team that won it all got dropped from the 1 seed to the 8th we only have 8 teams in playoffs except for jr. pee wee. Our coach was called by multiple commissioner's to say that an illegal kid from north long beach played against us they would have been out of the playoffs but he wouldn't because it wasn't true. Unfortunately there have been many team's caught with illegal players most notably Tustin. But this punishment has never been given. Those teams went on to Florida and were never punished the league is to big and makes too much money. The OEC is full of great city's and teams but the board is full of agendas and greed.

I feel sorry for the kids that suffer and can't play. But it's a sad day when someone falsifies a birth certificate to have an older kid beat up on younger kids. In my opinion the parent and any accomplices should go to prison for endangering the other kids. Just ridiculous that anyone wants to win that badly or live vicariously through their kids. What a sad excuse for a parent.

OCJAFF dad, you are to blame for all of it. Just take the heat for it. Where there is smoke there's fire man. Did you hear me, smoke then fire. Again, smoke first then fire after. Only you can prevent forest fires, only you.

Dear My Kids Dad;
OEC wouldn't know the rules if it bit them in the bottom. We drove from Yuma to play the Regional game to determine who would go to Super Bowl of the West. We looked the team we were playing up on the Website. 1 of the teams in their conference was 7-0 and the other team of the same division was 0-7. The coaches on that team who saw my 6 kids that weighed 70 lbs said they don't even let kids that small sign up. So go ahead and hold your "football Camps" before the season starts so you can divide your teams up so you have a team that has a 7-0 season and one that goes 0-7 but whatever you do, don't call it tryouts. And we were still competitive with this team, even though they were loaded up.

Coach Buzz
Yuma JPW Scorpions
Yuma, AZ

Teams are leaving ocjaaf left and right. PCC rules!