La Cañada Gladiators football preview: Four teams ready to tackle season

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Junior gremlins runs side-to-side doing agility drills at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Austin Heberger, of La Crescenta, gathers his junior gremlins players before sending them on an endurance drill at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Josh Byer, 10, of Tujunga and Hudson Stimler, 10, of Pasadena, go head-to-head in a blocking drill at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Chris Calmon, of Monrovia, works with his junior peewee defense to track a runner at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Bobbie Torres, 11, of La Cañada, yells a cheer loudly at cheer practice at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Canada High School in La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Samantha Bouzikian, 10, of Glendale cheers during a rehearsal at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Canada High School in La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Aaron Matthews, 7, makes a catch on a run, cut, and catch drill at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Coach Austin Heberger, of La Crescenta, gathers his junior gremlins, many with their hands over their heads trying to get oxygen after a tough conditioning run at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Gladitors CFO Ted Jope, and Gladiators President Kevin Lacey, at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Canada High School in La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Sonny Rodriguez, 5, of Pasadena, runs sideways over hurdles at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Canada High School in La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Junior gremlins run agility drills at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Samantha Bouzikian, 10, of Glendale gets full extension of a high kick as she and her teammates rehears for cheer at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Matthew Kurkdjian, 9, of Altadena, takes a handoff from Coach Schloessman as they run plays at a Gladiators youth football practice at La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge on Thursday, September 3, 2015. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

By Jeff Tully, <em><a href=”mailto:jeff.tully@latimes.com”>jeff.tully@latimes.com</a></em>

Sept. 9, 2015 1:27 PM PT

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Kevin Lacey continues to be amazed at the hard work and dedication of a small group of young athletes.

Throughout the summer, members of the La Cañada Gladiators youth tackle football program have toiled through hot practices, shed numerous pounds in trying to make weight and readied themselves for the season ahead.

PHOTOS: La Cañada Gladiator youth football practice

For four Gladiators teams, whoplay their home games at La Cañada High, all their work and sacrifice will be put to the test when they open the 2015 season Saturday.

“These kids give a lot of effort and they give a lot of themselves for the program,” said Lacey, the organization’s president. “People don’t realize the amount of dedication these kids give to their team. When we started practices July 20 and to the middle of August, these players were out there practicing two hours a night, five days a week.

“Some of these kids had to make weight requirements, they went on diets and they had to get themselves ready for the season. ...I’m really proud of all of the kids who have come out.”

This season, the organization will field one team each in the Gremlin, Junior Gremlin, Junior Midget and Pee-Wee divisions.

“Both our Junior Midgets and Pee-Wees teams should be very good this year,” Lacey said. “In fact, the kids that have played Pee-Wees have been together for about three years. So, they are a solid group of kids.”

Last season, two Gladiators teams captured San Gabriel Valley Junior All-American Football Conference championships. The Junior Pee-Wees secured a title with a 20-7 victory against the Pasadena Panthers and finished the season with a 9-1 record. The Midgets were able to pull out a 28-26 win against the West Covina Bruins and posted a 9-1 record, as well.

“We are fortunate to have some very dedicated kids in our program,” Lacey said. “I think they’re ready for the season.

“Football is a very tough sport. But it’s also the ultimate team sport in that everybody has to contribute. A lot of parents ask me, ‘Why football? Why not some other sport?’ I think the one thing, apart from the commitment, that football teaches, especially with the youth players, is self-discipline. The reality is that if you can be on that field, with the adrenaline pumping, in a physical game and you can control yourself, you can control yourself under any circumstances.”

Organized in 1968, the Gladiators are members of the San Gabriel Valley Conference of Junior All-American Football. The organization is open to boys and girls between the ages of 6-14 who play on teams organized according to age and weight guidelines. The squads take part in eight to 10 games a season against teams from nearly 30 cities in the conference.

The Gladiators have traditionally served to prepare players who have gone on to compete for high school programs like La Cañada, St. Francis, Loyola, Flintridge Prep, Crescenta Valley and Pasadena Poly.

“This is my 11th year basically coaching with the Gladiators and I have a third child in the program,” Gremlins Coach Keenen Chung said. “I can tell you that the guy I coach with, Mike McConnell, him and I have been doing this together for that many years. We were just talking the other day about how great it’s been. On our older team, we had 16 guys that went on to play varsity football in high school. We have a kid playing now for the University of Chicago, one at Cornell, two at [Glendale Community College] and many who have gone on to study in college.

“It’s just great to see what kind of influence this program has had on the kids. And a lot of them that I see, still call me coach and they still remember the games and the experiences.”

Another important aspect of the organization is that it requires all participants to maintain a minimum 2.0 grade-point average throughout the season and those athletes attaining a 3.3 GPA or greater are awarded a scholar-athlete patch at the end of the season.