Pop Warner Facts East Bay Warriors

Thu, 21 August, 2008

POP Warner Fact Sheet

FACT SHEET

The only national youth Football & Cheerleading program in the USA! Celebrating its 70th Anniversary in 1999!
More than 300,000 kids, 35.000 coaches, and 750,000+ parents and friends. We estimate more than 3+ million volunteers and supporters, nationwide!
PWLS kids range in age from 5-15, with the majority in the 8-13 range. Yes, girls can play football and boys can be cheerleaders!
Flag and Tackle Football programs, Cheerleading and Dance Squads in 38 States... plus Mexico, Russia and Japan!
The ONLY national youth sports organization which also emphasizes Education... participating kids must have demonstrated satisfactory classroom progress, before they can compete! We annually recognize our First and Second Team Academic All-American scholar/athletes! We provide Scholarships for Higher Education!
The oldest established Coaching Education & Instruction Program among any national youth sports organization. Keeping our program Safe and Fun for our kids is among our highest priorities! The only national youth football program rule book, to assure consistency and safety.
PWLS has expanded working relationships with: the NFL; NFL Players Inc; Walt Disney World and Disneyland; Fox/Fox SportsNet, NBC and ESPN/ABC; and a growing number of corporate contributors, sponsors and licensers... like Reebok, US Airways, First USA, Wilson, Riddell and many others.
With school budget cuts eliminating Elementary/Middle School extra-curricular activities, PWLS has become an important ally to local School and Parks & Recreation programs.
High School Football and Cheer coaches rely on Pop Warner kids as the only ones who have had training in the fundamentals in their sport... and the ones who show discipline and teamwork/leadership skills.

A PEEK AT POP WARNER'S HISTORY

Originally formed in 1929 as a local Philadelphia area football club, later named for legendary College Football Coach Glen Scobie "Pop" Warner. Even today, he is considered among the winningest coaches in College Football history!
Hosted its first National Championship event in 1947. Organized by Co-founder Joe Tomlin, it was called the "Pop Warner Santa Claus Bowl".
From its formation through today, Pop Warner Little Scholars has established safe, organized competition, provided an appreciation for life-long learning and sustained a sense of personal and community values for its participants.

HOW WE KEEP IT SAFE, FUN & FAIR

Kids compete with kids of similar age and size. 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.
Did you know that Pop Warner football is safer than soccer? Pop Warner football has fewer serious injuries than youth soccer!!! (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
Pop Warner's Rule Book is tough. Strict, time-tested guidelines for protecting the safety of our kids. It also requires that EVERY participating child plays in EVERY game.
Pop Warner provides Clinics for Football and Cheerleading Coaches every year. Subjects range from surveying the practice/game fields for safety to making sure the equipment used is in good condition. Sports psychology sessions help coaches reduce their, and local parents', passion to win and explains that it is more important for the kids to have fun!
Pop Warner's National Office provides the best insurance program in American youth sports. Our national insurance standards MUST be met by every Pop Warner team, regardless of insurance carrier.

PWLS STRUCTURE

Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. is overseen by a Board of Directors and led by the National Staff, with Headquarters in Langhorne (suburban Philadelphia) Pennsylvania.
Eight PWLS Regions across the USA. Each has a Volunteer Regional Director, Vice Regional Director and Regional Cheer Coordinator.
Leagues/Conferences/Federations make up each Region. The League schedules games, hires officials, declares champions, enforces rules and generally administers local programs.
Associations make up our Leagues. Associations are administrators of local teams, raising money, buying equipment and the like. In a large city, an Association might consist of one or more neighborhoods. In a suburban area, the Association may be one or more towns.
Within each Association there are Divisions Of Play. There are seven Divisions Of Play, all determined by a strict age/ weight matrix to ensure balanced competition.
Local Teams make up the Divisions Of Play and the Associations. Each team consists of 16-35 football players or a similar number of cheerleaders.
Each team plays within a Division Of Play, under a particular Association.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Regional Championships are held in four or five (subject to Region) Tackle Football Divisions, in Cheerleading and Dance.
Regional Championship Teams/Squads move on to the Pop Warner Super Bowl to determine National Champions in Football, Cheerleading and Dance.
The 1995 PWLS Super Bowl was the first time that this event has been held at Walt Disney World's Sports Complex in Orlando. The impressive Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World will again host the 1999 PWLS Super Bowl, December 8-11, 1999.

PWLS AWARDS

PWLS AWARDS Each Memorial Day Weekend, PWLS recognizes outstanding academic performance by its scholar/athletes by announcing the First and Second Teams of Academic All-Americans. PWLS and leading corporate supporters provide Scholarships for Higher Education to the most accomplished scholar/athletes. In addition, PWLS recognizes adult achievements and outstanding adult role models by presenting awards to male and female Volunteers of the Year, the Glenn Scobie "Pop" Warner Award, the Inspiration To Youth Award and others. Adult role-models are inducted into The Pop Warner Round Table. Recent winners of such awards include NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Emmitt Smith, Ann Meyers Drysdale, NFL Hall of Fame member Dick Butkus, legendary College Coach Eddie Robinson.