On the
field, the game the East Providence Mohawks will play this fall remains
quite the same as the one played by their brethren in the area youth
football ranks. Away from the gridiron, however, the Mohawks became the
first and most visible organization to split with the well-established
Pop Warner league and join up with the burgeoning American Youth
Football association.
"There were a lot of reasons why we decided to change, but most of them
revolved around money," Mohawks president Kevin Gaugher explained.
"Pop Warner basically got greedy," he continued. "The final blow for us
really was the request that all organizations have "Pop Warner" included
in their names. We didn't want that."
Nor, Gaugher added, did the Mohawks group want to be constricted by
other national office mandates including increased licensing fees along
with the use of only Pop Warner affiliated vendors for balls and other
equipment.
It made the Mohawks officials uncomfortable and in a sense tied their
hands when it came to financial matters.
"The fees for AYF are much more realistic," said Gaugher. "The more
money you have to send up to Pop Warner the less you can spend on the
kids."
Most organizations collect and spend 10s of thousands of dollars each
season when adding up all the costs involved in equipping players,
travel, facility rentals and insurance.
Anywhere a deal can be found is a benefit, an idea the Mohawks felt was
taken away by Pop Warner's recent edicts.
"We think we can save almost half of what we spent last year in Pop
Warner by joining the AYF," said Gaugher. "That means we have that much
more money to put back into the organization."
The Mohawks weren't the only team to contemplate the move. The
Darlington Braves in Pawtucket also agreed to make the jump with East
Providence from what was then the Southwestern R.I. Pop Warner Football
League.
The Braves, however, got cold feet and remained in Pop Warner with a
revamped grouping, now called Southeastern New England Pop Warner,
alongside several other local teams.
The Riverside Raiders, for one, decided to remain in Pop Warner, though
the other East Providence-based organization is keeping tabs on the
Mohawks' experience.
"I still talk to their coaches and administrators almost daily. We have
a good working relationship with them," said Riverside president Tom
Peno. "We're still committed to Pop Warner. But we're going to keep and
eye on how that (AYF) league works out."
Over in Seekonk, leaders of the Tigers are likely to take the same tact
as those in Riverside.
"I don't much about (the AYF)," said Seekonk president Bill Vieira.
"We'll see how this season pans out and go from there."
It appears many interested parties will be paying close attention to how
the Mohawks fare this season, both on the field and off.
For now, however, both Seekonk and Riverside remain committed to Pop
Warner.
"We still have some excellent programs remaining in Pop Warner," Vieira
added. "Portsmouth always has a strong team. Darlington just won a
national championship a couple of years ago. New Bedford is good. And
assuming the size of Fall River, I expect them to be a good program as
well."
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