30 Years of Football Memories: Oak Lawn Outlaws Celebrate Anniversary, Gear Up for Trip to Florida

For the last 10 years—half of their married life together—Chris and Diane Ward have celebrated football Sundays with family, friends and neighbors in Oak Lawn.

And not just by rooting for the Bears.

The two are active members of the Oak Lawn Outlaws youth football organization that is celebrating a 30-year anniversary and preparing to take a trip to the National Youth Football Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Chris coaches boys who play football on the junior level (7^th- and 8^th-graders). Diane coaches the cheerleaders. The Outlaws play their home games on Sundays on the new FieldTurf at Oak Lawn Community High School.

The Wards first signed up for what has evolved into a labor of love when their oldest son Chris Jr. enrolled in the Outlaws program in 2001-02. He is now a junior in high school at St. Rita.

All four of his brothers and sisters have grown up with Outlaws football as a second religion, too. Lauren (cheerleader) is now a sophomore at Western Illinois University. Cassidy (cheerleader) is a sophomore at Oak Lawn Community High School. David is an eighth-grader at Simmons Middle School, and Joshua is a fifth-grader at Columbus Manner Elementary School.

Actually, the Wards’ involvement with the Outlaws goes back to the beginning.

“I was one of the first to put on an Oak Lawn Outlaw uniform back in 1981,” said Chris Sr., who works as a firefighter and paramedic with the Oak Lawn Fire Department. “It’s still a family-oriented, family-run organization. It’s a bunch of Moms and Dads coaching kids from the neighborhood, all of Oak Lawn. Really, the kids come from all the surrounding areas. Anybody is welcome.”

Chris Sr. went on to play football at Oak Lawn Community High School and later had a tryout at Central Texas Community College. He spent time in the military before becoming a firefighter, settling back in his hometown and returning to his Outlaw roots.

“I give the same speech to every one of my kids,” he said. “They learn lessons out here that are not just about football, but about being a team player, how to pick themselves up when they got knocked down, how to deal with adversity that comes with playing against people bigger than you are.

“There are team aspects and personal aspects that come into play every day. We have kids of all different nationalities and backgrounds in our organization. They learn how to get along. Those are lessons that will serve them the rest of their lives.”

Ward’s message of perseverance struck a chord on 9/11 when the Outlaws staged a moving ceremony to remember the victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers.

“It was the best thing we did this year,” Diane Ward said. “Amazing.”

The Outlaws open the Metro League playoffs at home on Sunday, Nov. 6. Competition continues on four different levels—Super Pee Wee, Pee Wee, Widget and Junior—through the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl on Nov. 19.

Then, it’s on to Florida for about 40 junior players, cheerleaders, coaches and a group of Outlaw chaperones. Oak Lawn is scheduled to play in a national tournament Nov. 21-26 in Daytona Beach.

The Outlaw cheerleaders are pumped after their award-winning performance at Cheer Fest 2011 in Chicago Heights.

“I will tell you I think it’s a family away from their real families,” Diane Ward said of the Outlaw organization. “It’s all about teamwork and just to reach their potential as a team. Football is not an individual sport. Nor is cheerleading.

“You’ve got to win as a team and you lose as a team. They look to us cheer coaches like we’re their second Moms. I think we have a lot of influence on their lives. I coach with an excellent group of women. And we have a number of girls who go away, then come back and want to help and give back. That says a lot.”

To pay for their trip to Daytona Beach, the Outlaws will be outside stores in Oak Lawn participating in a “Shake the Can” effort to raise funds. They also have plans for a Texas Hold ’em tournament on Nov. 4. Individuals can donate by contacting league president Brian Hanik (312) 735-9562.