BY RYAN O'CONNOR

Thirty-nine teams from nine New Hampshire and Massachusetts towns converged on Aug. 18 for one day of Pop Warner football fun. Hundreds of aspiring young athletes and their parents, roughly 3,000 people in all, took part in the 2007 Ricky McGregor Hooksett Hurricane Kickoff Classic at Donati Field.

According to event organizer Thom Devos, the town was ready.

Devos, president of the Hurricanes, and his fellow board members decided to scale down this year’s jamboree after crowds the previous four years became difficult to control, especially parking and bus transportation.

Five years ago, when the event was established to raise money for local leagues, 141 teams from around the Northeast were invited, creating the world’s largest Pop Warner football jamboree and, at times, a virtual parking lot of traffic at the Route 28/3A corridor around Arthur Donati Field.

But Hurricane officials weren’t prepared to scrap the event altogether.

“For the program, it’s huge,” said Devos. “It’s the largest fundraiser we have each year, and it helps us stay financially responsible and in a positive situation.”

Money is raised from fees for each invited team, concessions and raffles.

Though he was contacted by teams as far away as upstate New York, Devos said he was forced to turn away many squads to create this year’s one-day event.

The goal, he said, was to build confidence from town officials and residents in proving the Hurricanes could host their annual fundraiser without disturbing the typical tranquility of a Hooksett summer weekend.

By taking advantage of the new road between routes 3A and 28, as well as working out an agreement with Cigna to use its parking lot and transport participants and parents back and forth from the fields, the event was as smooth as ever, said Devos, who added that the tireless efforts from the dozens of Hurricane volunteers was also a necessity in making the jamboree fun and functional.

He now hopes to gradually build the event back to at least 80 teams participating during two days.

“I wanted to make sure the town understood we knew how to manage it, so that next year we can go to them and say, ‘There’s nothing negative that happened last year. We managed the event well and we can do it again,’” said Devos. “Based on town’s feedback, I would expect we may increase it next year again to 50 teams.”

Formal feedback has also been requested of the other participating league presidents.

“So far, everything I’ve heard has been extremely positive, especially in terms of meeting the start and finish times that were established within a minute of each game,” said Devos. “Hopefully, next year, we will have a hotel in Hooksett that teams can stay at, and we can generate money for the hotel and local economy as well.”

On-field focus

The event wasn’t all about revenue, parking and volunteering, however.

Kent Beirne, Hurricanes board member and coach of the Junior Pee Wee squad, said  the 14-hour day was a whirlwind of activity for Hooksett’s 95 players and the innumerable visiting children.

“It was a little overwhelming, but we had great fun and the kids had lots of fun, so it was certainly a worthwhile event,” he said.

Beirne said the jamboree also gives him and other coaches an opportunity to manage a game plan on the field against unfamiliar competition, something obviously unavailable during the regular season.

“As a coach, it was good because we were right there and able to turn it into a real development and learning exercise,” said Beirne, whose team was asked to play four straight 40-minute games to fill in for a team the Manchester Eagles were unable to provide.

“They started off fine, but by the middle of the third game and definitely in the fourth game both our offense and defense had run out of gas,” said Beirne. “Not so much for me as a coach, but for the players, it was definitely overwhelming to spend that much time on the field … I probably wouldn’t run them that much if we did it again next year.”

Still, everyone involved enjoyed the day, he said.

“As a parent, having partaken in it the last couple years with my son, it is a time to get the kids out there before the regular season starts and have them involved in a game-like atmosphere to get them ready for the real season,” Beirne continued. “From a social standpoint, you get to see other parents and mingle with them, which is always nice.”