One of Weplay’s founding partners, Pop Warner, is kicking off their 2010 season this week! We know that Weplay is the home to many of the Pop Warner football and cheer teams. As the excitement builds for the first game to begin we wanted to honor a member of the Pop Warner family as our Coach of the Week!
Congratulations to Pop Warner’s Saddleback Valley Jr. Midget Chargers coach, Dave Gilbert! Dave has been coaching in Orange County, California for five years and four out of those five have been with Pop Warner. He wrote " Our whole family is into Pop Warner football and cheer."
It is truly a family affair when it comes to Pop Warner for the Gilbert family. Dave’s son Reece is a member of the chargers, which is one of the main reasons he got into the Pop Warner coaching community. His wife Gaye is the head cheer coach for the SV Jr. Midget Cheer squad, which their two daughters Hannah and Sydney also participate in. Dave looks up to Gaye's coaching very much and wrote that “she is an unbelievable coach who has taken teams to national championships!” It sounds like the Gilbert’s has definitely caught the coaching bug!
Coach Gilbert caught the coaching bug early on right after his own sports career had come to an end. Growing up he played tackle football from fifth through eighth grade. He earned ten varsity letters in High School football, diving, and track. An injury prevented him from playing college football, which is when a friend's dad asked him to help coach his eighth grade football team. Coach Gilbert wrote "I was immediately hooked!" It wasn’t till Reece started playing 19 years later that he got to coach again.
During his five years of coaching Gilbert has set goals that he always hopes to accomplish throughout the seasons. Coach Gilbert has four goals that he always keeps in mind all season long. His first goal is to make sure the young men leave the field with more knowledge than they stepped on to the field with. His second goal is to have fun while developing a passion for this wonderful game. The third is to remember at lest one "significant learning opportunity" that they can apply to their life off the turf, and last but not least he always likes to see his players sign up for another season!
Coach Gilbert's Key to Success:
Understanding the differences between youth football and what we see on TV each week
Keep everything as simple as possible. Keeping things simple builds confidence, and confidence leads to aggressive playing.
Assemble a staff of coaches and administrators that support the TEAM first mentality over individuals.
Congratulations again to Coach Dave Gilbert, and good luck in your upcoming season. Go Chargers!
