The Apopka Pop Warner organization is coming off a monumental 2024 year in which the football and cheer teams went to the national stage. The organization has grown tremendously since last year, and the Blue Darters hope to build the program to new heights in 2025.
Last year, Apopka Pop Warner’s 12U football team made it to the highest level of competition, where they faced teams from around the country: the Pop Warner Super Bowl Tournament. Unfortunately, the Blue Darters fell 25-22 in the first round to the Hartford Hurricanes from Connecticut.
Tony Shuler, the former president of Apopka Pop Warner, said the Blue Darters will go even farther this year.
“Organizational-wise, I think we’re going to be back in the game of clearing up everyone in Central Florida,” Shuler said. “I think we are a legacy program because of our tenure and consistency of success within the program. We’re back to seven teams plus our girls football and looking to sweep everything this year.”
Apopka Pop Warner now has three girls flag football teams and a co-ed flag football team joining the organization. The age groups for the girls flag football teams are 10U, 12U, and 14U, while the co-ed team is 6U.
The cheer side of Apopka Pop Warner has also grown, adding two more teams to make a total of five. Last year, two of the organization’s three cheer teams finished first at nationals, with all three invited to attend and compete. The Mighty Mites and the Tiny Mites took home first place, and the Jr. Peewee team took home second place. The teams were unable to compete in globals last year but hope to go all the way this year.
The Apopka Pop Warner organization has a mission to create a safe, competitive and community-centered environment for Apopka area kids to participate in football and cheer.
Their players’ behavior and attitude off the field, especially in the classroom, are also important to the organization. Apopka’s website states that one of the organization’s main objectives is “to instill life-long values of teamwork, dedication, and a superior work ethic in the classroom and on the playing field.”
“That is part of the little scholar’s program,” said Ken Bryant, the new Pop Warner president. “Education is very important to us. The majority of our board are actually educators. I’m a pastor, but we have educators across our board and among our volunteers. So, we put our focus on making sure that everyone is qualified in the classroom first. Excelling in the classroom is the most important thing. Apopka Pop Warner had 23 All-American scholars last year. I want to double that if I can this year, or possibly more.”
Bryant, the 2024 commissioner of Apopka Pop Warner, took over as president after Shuler stepped down earlier this year.
Right now, the focus during summer is conditioning. At least three times a week, the teams will meet at Kit Land Nelson Park and work on speed, endurance, and agility through sprints, footwork drills, and more.
Shuler said the family aspect of Pop Warner is sometimes more important than football.
“Everybody, quote-unquote, wants to win. But what else are your kids getting?” he said. “Are they getting that substance from their coaches? Are they getting the support they need from the organization? We are providing that, and it shows.”
Creating a family bond can be the difference between losing and winning when you’re in the trenches of a game, Shuler said.
“We do a lot more team building now,” Shuler said. “We’re back to a more family and community building focus. We do a lot of picnics. Most organizations aren’t practicing as frequently as we do, but we do much more than practice when out here.”
