Jacob Schmidt loves wearing his new Thomas Jefferson Youth Football jersey on Fridays.

"I like the new shirt. I like the paw print on it and I like wearing it on Fridays because that's when the high school (players) play," said Schmidt, an 8-year-old Gill Hall Elementary School third-grader. "I like being on the team because a lot of my friends are on it, and it's cool."

Schmidt and the 150 members of the TJ Youth Football team received new game shirts and pants thanks to a $10,000 grant from State Rep. David Levdansky, D-Forward.

Thomas Jefferson Youth Football includes 150 boys between the ages of 6 and 13, divided into six teams. The nonprofit organization was able to buy 175 jerseys with the money.

"Kids learn lifelong lessons and experience what it means to be a member of a team when they are involved in sports such as football," Levdansky said. "While academics is imperative, the popularity of our Pittsburgh Steelers makes football an important sport in our region and kids of all ages can play and aspire to be a Hines Ward or Troy Polamalu.

"I am pleased to be in a position to help ... pay for these new jerseys. These are good kids. They work hard throughout football season and deserve to wear decent uniforms for their games."

The jerseys came from Wilson Sports and were made in Tennessee. They were designed by Schmidt, boosters and the league's assistant coordinator.

"We were in dire need of game shirts but we didn't have any resources to get the shirts. If it hadn't been for this grant, we would had to ask the parents for fundraising and we didn't want to burden the parents in this tough economy," Schmidt said.

Jefferson Hills resident Dominic Serapiglia, 40, who was instrumental in helping secure the grant, is happy to help the children in his community.

"Children need advocates, and it's great that they are getting the new shirts," said Serapiglia, whose son plays in, and daughter cheers for, the organization.

Schmidt, 40, left an after-school coaching job at Allderdice high School — where he teaches special education — to run the TJ Youth Football program. He has been its coordinator since last year.

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