POP WARNER GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The mission of Pop Warner Little Scholars is to enable young people to benefit from participation in team sports and activities in a safe and structured environment. Through this active participation, Pop Warner programs teach fundamental values, skills and knowledge that young people will use throughout their lives. Pop Warner seeks to provide fun athletic learning opportunities for children, while instilling the importance of academic success. Specifically Pop Warner seeks to familiarize players and spirit participants with the fundamentals of football, cheerleading and dance. Pop Warner strives to inspire youth, regardless of race, creed or national origins to practice the ideals of sportsmanship, scholarship, and physical fitness as reflected in the life of the late Glenn Scobie “Pop” Warner.
Objectives
* To encourage and increase youth participation in football, cheerleading and dance
* To ensure a safe and positive playing environment for all participants.
* To instill life-long values of teamwork, dedication and a superior work ethic in the classroom and on the playing field.
Positive Experience
* Pop Warner programs have no tryouts or cutting of rosters
* Everyone participates under mandatory rules of play.
* On-field coaching is allowed for younger age levels.
* Individual awards are given only for academic excellence, not for on-field activities.
Safe Playing Environment
* Players are matched by age and weight levels.
* There are strict mandatory equipment requirements
* Pop Warner provides Coaching Clinics and Risk Management Training.
* An enforced national rule book incorporates time-tested rules.
* A full-time executive staff supports all local associations and assists in sound policy creation.
Here are some notable facts about Pop Warner Football:
- Well over 20 million youngsters have played Pop Warner Football since 1929.
- Safety is our primary concern. Pop Warner Football is safer than many youth activities, such as swimming, bicycling, skateboarding, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
- In Pop Warner Football, there is “an absence of catastrophic head and neck injuries and disruptive joint injuries found at higher levels.” The injury rate in Pop Warner Football is:
- less than 1/3 the injury rate in high school football
- less than 1/5 the injury rate in college football
- less than 1/9 the injury rate in professional football
- According to the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA), “National injury estimates clearly show that compared to other athletic activities, cheerleading has one of the lowest occurrences of injury that leads to an emergency room visit.
- At the National Cheerleading Coaches Conference in Fayetteville, North Carolina, it was stated that there are currently 6.8 million Cheerleaders in America, practicing an average of 6 hours a week.
- There are reasons for Pop Warner’s solid safety record:
- The Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma in New York completed a Pop Warner injury survey in 71 towns covering over 5,000 players in 1998. The injury experience of 5,128 boys (8 to 15 years of age, weight 50 to 150 lbs.) participating in youth football revealed an overall rate of significant injury of 5%, with 61% classified as moderate and 38.9% as major injuries. That’s about 1.33 per team per year. No catastrophic injuries occurred, and it was rare for a permanent disability to result from an injury.
- You should be aware that in spite of all reasonable precautions, injuries can happen. Football is a collision sport, and even the best gear will sometimes not prevent an injury.