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What I Like: Jon Butler, Pop Warner Little Scholars

PROFESSIONAL

What I Like …

Photo: COURTESY OF POP WARNER LITTLE SCHOLARS

An insight: Follow your passion. I do what I love, helping young people.

An influential person in my career: My mother. She owned a sports business at a time when women didn’t own businesses.

An out-of-the-box idea: Let kids play sports for the fun and sense of accomplishment.

A timeless idea: Personal responsibility.

A business deal: Nonspecific, but the increases in sports media, new platforms, new outlets.

Jon Butler
Executive director
Pop Warner Little Scholars

What I also do: Vice president of National Council of Youth Sports, president of National Sports Concussion Coalition, member of US Lacrosse insurance and risk management committee.
Where I’m from: I live in Pennington, N.J. I was born and raised on the Main Line of Philadelphia
Where I Went to School: University of Virginia McIntire School, B.S. in commerce.
My First Job: I was a summer intern for Rae Crowther Co., the oldest manufacturer of football blocking sleds and practice equipment. It was a family business started by my uncle, who was also a coach at the University of Pennsylvania.
A sports facility: ESPN’s Wide World of Sports.

A sports event: I’m biased, but the Pop Warner Super Bowl and National Cheer and Dance Championships.

A strategy: Be transparent and collaborative in relationships.

A hire: With a staff of only eight, every hire is important.

A brand: Apple and Under Armour.

A trend: The increased exposure of youth sports on expanding media platforms.

An innovation: iPhone.

A story that bears watching: Appeal of the O’Bannon lawsuit and the changes it will make to the college game.

A fantasy job: NFL team GM.


What I Like about …

My job: Constant variation.

Sports: Simplicity, honesty, teamwork and the values it teaches you to prepare for life.

Sports business: Dealing with people who are passionate about sports and the values inherent in them.

Sports technology: Sports medicine and technology advancements have turned operations like my recent knee surgery into routine procedures that only sideline you for days.

The future of sports business: Greater interest of professional teams connecting with youth programs and community organizations.


What I Would Like To …

Change: Better sportsmanship and less overinvolvement and overprotection from parents.

See more of in sports: Sportsmanship at all levels. Kids emulate the adults — professional athletes and parents — and believe that bad sportsmanship is acceptable.

See more of in sports business: Partnerships for the good of the game.

See less of in sports: Sports specialization at very young ages.

Eliminate: Early recruiting by college coaches.


What I Don’t Like …

Pet peeve: Lack of accountability.

In sports: Selfish play and poor sportsmanship.

In business: Things beyond our control that impact our programs.

About sports fans: Lack of respect for the hard work and fabulous abilities of ALL the athletes they’re watching.


PERSONAL

What I Like …

Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

People: Fabulous, incredibly dedicated volunteers in Pop Warner.

That would surprise those who know me: I ran 16 marathons and won “Heavyweight Marathon Champion of the World” twice.

Above all else: Mark Twain’s quote: “Try to live your life so that, when you die, even the undertaker mourns your passing.”

About myself: I love trying to help kids. Former Big Brother in Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Heroes: My brother who died of leukemia at age 21.

Players: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck.

Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

Teams: I’m a hometown guy and also biased toward those that work closely with Pop Warner — Eagles, Patriots, Buccaneers, Chargers, Jets, Jaguars.

City: Philadelphia.

Possession: I’m not really into prized possessions. What I value most are my supportive wife and son.


Memento: My brother’s college football jersey.

Time of year: Fall. It’s football season!

Music: Everything from classic rock to Broadway show tunes to some hip-hop.

Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
Books: I’m a voracious reader — a lot of fiction while traveling, but also biographies and historical fiction.

Authors: John Grisham, W.E.B. Griffin.

Chores: Cooking and dog walking.

Hobbies: Playing golf, watching my son play lacrosse, collecting antique banks.

Movies: “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Forrest Gump,” “Remember the Titans.”

Food: Salmon — done at least a dozen different ways — and blueberries.

Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

Vacation spots: Beach Haven, N.J.

Cars: Porsche, Audi.

Aftershave: None.

Quote: “Character is doing the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.” — Michael Josephson.

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