Game Time for Golden Bear Chargers (Video)

Two groups of Mighty Mites stand across from each other. Helmeted and outfitted with shoulder pads, some of them take three-point stances while others simply crouch down slightly ready to pounce.

The whistle is blown and one carries a ball behind a blocker. He sees daylight, but only for an instant, and he, his blocker and most of his offensive line are taken down. When the play is over, most of the players lay on the ground in a pile and stare at the sky.

This is football Golden Bear Charger Style, at least on the younger level.

Practicing under the bright lights at , the league is made up of the Tiny Mites, Mighty Mites, Junior Pee Wees, Pee-Wees, Junior Midgets and Midgets, with teams practicing five days a week during the summer, and about three times during the school year. The league also has a healthy cheerleading program.

 “We have kids from Milltown, Spotswood, East Brunswick and Helmetta,” said Commissioner Mike Vincelli.

Perhaps it’s a testament to the league’s success that this year has no Midget squads playing. Since the Midget squads are typically the oldest and closest to playing on middle school and high school teams, the ranks are sparse.

“For the bigger kids, and the East Brunswick kids, they go on to middle school,” he said.

GBC is a non-profit member of the Central Jersey Pop Warner Conference. The team was established in 1966 and in 1998 it merged with the Spotswood Chargers group. Aside from learning the Xs and Os of football, players and their parents come to the league to make friends and for the camaraderie.

“They learn as a team and learn as individuals that you have to play your hardest and do your best,’ said Vincelli. “If they didn’t like each other, they wouldn’t be running around and having fun.”

His wife, Amy agrees.

“We’ve made a lot of friends at the GBC. A lot of good friends,” she said.

Some parents, while nervous about they’re children playing football, say they can see the difference the sport makes in they’re children.

“He’s made a lot of friends and loves the sport more now because he’s playing it, it’s much different watching it. He sees it from a different angle,” said Vivian Santamaria-Vega, a mother of a Mighty Mite.

For more information on the Golden Bear Chargers, visit the legue's website here.