Football
Pop Warner football has been around since the inception of the league in 1929 by founder Joseph J. Tomlin, as a four-team conference in Northeast Philadelphia.
Since then, participation has steadily increased to today’s record numbers. More than 70 percent of the current active NFL players competed on Pop Warner teams across the country!
Team season: August – October: weekend football games, possibly into November depending on playoff eligibility.
August pre-season practice: 5 times per week, Monday – Friday; typically 5:30 – 7:30pm.
School year team practice: reduced to 3 times per week; times and days determined by the coach.
Important Dates: View the on-line calendar
REQUIRED PAPERWORK:
• Original Birth Certificate (for new players only)
• Copy of full 2023/2024 Final Report Card (including UA’s, i.e. Health, Music, Art, etc.)
**Medical Form, Registration Form and Parental Consent Form are now completed online during registration. No need for physical forms!!**
SAFETY FIRST:
Kids compete with kids of similar age and size. Pop Warner is the ONLY youth program (local, regional and national) that sets and enforces a strict AGE MATRIX that reduces the risk and reality of injuries.
All coaches go through hours of league certified safety training, and each team has at least 2 CPR/first aid certified volunteers on their roster. Portsmouth Youth Football & Cheer also owns 2 AED machines, so that all fields can have increased safety for not only participants, but also all fans.
WHY THERE ARE NO PERSONAL STATISTICS:
Pop Warner exists to use football, cheerleading, dance, and a respect for education 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.
While individual statistics may be more common among older football players, 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, with each member.
We don’t try to build stars. We don’t want to over-inflate a young ego, nor do we want to risk injuring the self-esteem of a young person. Whether our kids have good days or bad, they are still an integral part of our team…and always will be. GO BIG RED!!!!