GUILDERLAND — As usual in the late summer, the landscape of the Nott Road Athletic Fields was filled with kids playing football.

But the landscape was slightly altered on a beautiful early Friday evening. Instead of Mighty Mites and Junior Midget teams dressed in full pads banging heads on the field, there were kids in wheelchairs and parents or siblings wearing flags.

The Pop Warner Challenger Football League made a stop in Guilderland on Friday. The program, which began in East Greenbush and has garnered national attention, is now thriving in the Capital District. This was the first game in Guilderland. There will be games in Ballston Spa and North Colonie in the coming weeks along with the regular games every week in East Greenbush.
"I love football," said Emilio Genzano whose son Joey and wife Jill played in the game. "My dream is for my kids to play. This is one way that they all can."

Genzano had a big part in bringing the game to Guilderland. He is the president of the Guilderland Pop Warner and he and his family have taken part in the Challenger games for the last three years. Genzano’s oldest son, E.J., plays in the Pop Warner and was the referee for one of the older-aged Challenger games, while his family played.
"I love it," E.J. Genzano said of the Challenger games. "It’s is really helping him. It brings out the whole family and we spend the day together. We are down here four days of the week."

"Open to everybody with disabilities"

The Challenger League is in its fourth year but hasn’t been affiliated with Pop Warner that long. The Genzanos have been involved in the league for three years.
"It’s open to everybody with disabilities," said one of the founders, Tom Hindes. "It’s for the kids to have fun. It’s to get parents to do something with their kids they wouldn’t be able to do. We try to make it a family affair and I think that makes it better."

Hindes is the head of the Capital District Pop Warner Challenger Division.

Players from Ballston Spa, Colonie, and East Greenbush joined players from Guilderland for football on Friday. There were two games going on at the same time — one for older kids and one for those younger than 11. The field was 50 yards long and 20 yards wide. Players had to pull flags off the ball carrier to down them.

Games are played almost every week, depending on the weather.
"We play in nice weather," Jill Genzano said. "Pop Warner lasts longer than we do. We end early. If the weather’s bad, we’ll keep the kids at home. We do what’s best for their health and safety. We don’t go out in the cold and rain. We only did that for ESPN."

The sports network aired a story of the program in February.

But the league is open to kids from anywhere.
"Anyone from any town can play," Hindes said. "This year we have a team in Guilderland, a team from East Greenbush, Ballston Spa, and North Colonie. Last year, we had one team in East Greenbush."

The growth of the league is due to some exposure it received last year.
"It’s because of ESPN," Hindes said. "We went from one team to four and there are at least 100 teams and others being considered all the time. That’s just the ones recognized by Pop Warner. There are other groups that do this."

ESPN went to a Challenger game in East Greenbush last fall and a story on that game aired in February.

ESPN, then, helped send 20 families to the Walt Disney World Resort’s Wide World of Sports in Florida. Disney is the parent company of ESPN.

The Challenger team also had a spot on CBS before the annual Detriot Lions football game on Thanksgiving.

"A field of peace"
"It blows your mind," Hindes said. "It’s great to see kids on the field that love to play football as any other kid on the field. They like doing it, and that is all that matters."

The league is already raising funds for another trip to Disney at the end of the year.

Hindes is happy that all kids have a place on a football field.
"Burke Adams and myself tried to have football before," Hindes said, "and it didn’t work. We decided to take it to Pop Warner and obviously the size of the organization helped. It made a big difference."
Before Friday’s game, Emilio Genzano made a speech, welcoming participants, family, and spectators to the event. He called the gridiron, "A field of peace to bring families together to enjoy the game of football and inspire all involved."

And for two hours, families from different towns mingled and enjoyed the moment. They shared in the one thing they had in common: having a child with disabilities.
"We probably enjoy it more than I think the kids do," Jill Genzano said. "I enjoy being out as a family, playing together, and with a lot of other kids. It’s something to get excited about."

The games, Jill Genzano said, do seem to help Joey a little bit. Joey, who has a form of muscular dystrophy, would normally be found in front of his computer playing a video game.

Joey attends a BOCES classroom at Forts Ferry Elementary School in the North Colonie School District, but he is part of the Guilderland School District.

The games have also helped E.J. Genzano come to terms with his brother’s disability and he has learned a lot from his experiences.
"These kids, people just look at them differently," he said. "They come out here and they are part of something. They’re out here and people see that they have human faces that they are just like us."
"We do it for the kids," Emilio Genzano added. "We are fortunate to have what we have. I think the kids understand that. These people out here have had to learn different responsibilities, and I think E.J. is like that with Joey."

And as long as there is a program out there like the Challenger league, the Genzanos will continue to be strong supporters and promote the league.
"It’s not too late for people to sign up," Jill Genzano said. "People can just come out and watch."
Added E.J., "People should come out and see what it is like."