Who are the Pop Warner Little Scholars?
In 1929, Joseph J. Tomlin started a Philadelphia youth football program with just four teams. The program was funded by local factory owners with the simple aim of protecting their buildings from vandalism by disaffected youth! The program grew to 16 teams in 1933 and was renamed the ‘Pop Warner Conference’ in honor of the legendary football coach who enthusiastically supported the program.
Pop Warner compiled an incredible record of 312 wins, 104 losses, and 32 ties in his 44 years as a coach. However he was more interested in the character building aspects of football rather than the numbers. "The youth who doesn't thrill to the strain of struggle and the joy of victory isn't much of a lad," declared Warner.
Tomlin believed that football could also help keep his young players interested in education and in 1959 Pop Warner Little Scholars (PWLS) was officially incorporated as a national non-profit organization. The name was selected to underscore the basic concept that the classroom is as important as the playing field. PWLS is the only national youth sports organization in America that requires its participants to perform adequately in the classroom before permitting them to play.
Today, there are over 300,000 boys and girls, ages 5-16, participating in Pop Warner football and cheerleading programs in the United States.
How safe will my child be playing football?
The foundation of Pop Warner has always been safety. The best way to ensure the safety of a young football player is to ensure that he/she will not be over-matched by size or by age. Pop Warner is the only youth football program (local, regional and national) that sets and enforces a strict age/weight matrix that reduces the risk and reality of injuries.
The goal of the Pop Warner age-weight schematic is to control the overall range of weights, from minimum to maximum, and the age of the children on the field at a given division of play. The age-weight schematic is based on growth charts developed by the American Medical Association to include the largest number of kids at a given age.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Pop Warner football has 12% fewer injuries per capita among 5-15 year olds than organized soccer in the same age range!
In addition to a prohibition on tryouts and the cutting of players, Pop Warner also enforces a rule whereby every player on a team must be on the field for a mandated minimum number of plays every game.
Why are there no personal statistics?
Pop Warner exists to develop strong, smart, responsible, healthy young men and women. We give them experiences that build their appreciation for and understanding of leadership, teamwork, and discipline. Pop Warner only recognizes the athletic accomplishments of the team, not the individual. We don’t track personal tallies of touchdowns or yards rushing per game. We don’t count sacks or blocked kicks. We applaud the athletic efforts of the team to reinforce the importance of teamwork. Whether our kids have good days or bad, they are still an integral part of our team…and always will be.
Who do SYFC compete against?
Football
The Central Massachusetts Pop Warner Football League is separated into two divisions: the North (Division 1) and the South (Division 2). Shrewsbury is based in the South Division. In the regular season each team plays eight or nine games against teams from the North and South divisions, with the majority of games within the own division.
The top team in each division qualifies for the Regional playoffs, leading to the State Championship, the New England Regional Championship and ultimately the National Playoffs in Florida. Teams placing 2-9 in their division qualify for the appropriate Central Massachusetts playoff series (North or South).
Cheerleading
The girls will compete in a cheer competition toward the end of October. All cheer squads will participate. The Mitety Mites will only perform an exhibition routine and all other squads will perform a 3 minute cheer/dance routine and compete against all associations within Central Mass Pop Warner. The three top squads will advance to a Regional Cheer Competition and then on to National Cheer Competition in Florida.
What is the schedule and time commitment for practices and games?
Practice: The teams practice from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. every weekday night of August. These practices are mandatory and are set by the National Pop Warner board for safety reasons. Football is a complex game requiring solid fundamental skills as well as a high degree of teamwork. Once the school year begins the teams will continue to practice three times a week.
Games: The regular season begins on or around Labor Day Weekend. Each Team plays eight or nine regular season games, with playoffs following for teams that qualify. Most games are played on Sundays.
What equipment will my child need?
Football Players
You will need to provide the following items: an athletic supporter and cup, football shoes with molded cleats (NOT replaceable cleats), and a rib protector. Everything else – a helmet, all pads, jersey and pants - is provided by SYFC. Equipment is issued during the first two weeks of practice, and collected at the end of the season. Pop Warner Football goes to great lengths to ensure that all equipment is in premium condition, and is properly fitted for each player.
Cheerleading
The league will provide the skirt, vest and pom poms. It is the responsibility of the parents to purchase their sneakers and a white Danskin turtleneck. The cheer coaches will give you more information on sneaker type/store and turtlenecks during the first couple of weeks of practice.
Do Pop Warner parents have responsibilities?
Absolutely! Most importantly, you do your children a great service by making sure they get to practices and games on time, and with the right equipment. In addition, we rely heavily on parents volunteering their time. There are many activities that go into making Pop Warner a great experience -- the concession stand, charting plays, working on the "Chain Gang" -- and it's a great way to get to know the parents of your child's teammates. Ask your friends who have been involved in Pop Warner -- autumn Sunday mornings at the football field are great community gatherings. Please help out in any way you can!