Rio Rancho 13U Spartans Headed to Pop Warner Nationals

The Rio Rancho 13U Spartans secured the Pop Warner Southwest Regional Championship on November 18, 2025 and earned a berth at the Pop Warner Nationals in Charlotte this December. Coaches Nate Davis, Josiah Hunter, Byron Cooper, and Greg Dent Jr. credited the result to hard work, resilience, and teamwork as families and local supporters prepared to send the team to the national stage.

Last year the Spartans dominated their field but were unable to travel to Nationals because of financial hurdles. That lost opportunity has become part of the team narrative this season, intensifying efforts by coaches, parents, and local partners to remove barriers and ensure the players can compete. To cover airfare, ground transportation, meals, and hotel costs, the team launched a fundraising campaign and shared a link for donations at https://gofund.me/23e64d5de.

For Sandoval County families the Spartans success matters beyond trophies. Youth sports provide structured physical activity that supports healthy growth, lowers obesity risk, and bolsters mental health through teamwork and routine. When families cannot afford travel or registration fees, those health and developmental benefits become unevenly distributed. Local clinics, schools, and public health advocates say equitable access to extracurricular programs is a social determinant of health that deserves attention.

The Spartans run also highlights broader policy questions about funding for youth recreation and extracurricular programs. Public investment through municipal recreation budgets, school activity funds, and county grant programs can reduce out of pocket costs for families. Partnerships with healthcare organizations and community foundations can amplify support by framing youth sports as preventive public health work that reduces future demands on the health system.

Community leaders in Rio Rancho and across Sandoval County can take lessons from the Spartans experience by prioritizing stable funding streams, expanding scholarship programs, and building sponsorship pipelines that do not rely solely on family fundraising. As the team prepares for December Nationals, the trip is both a community celebration and a call to address the economic barriers that keep talented young athletes from equal opportunity.