Football News
Flag Football and Cheer is available for 5 and 6 year olds as of July 31. Registration is managed concurrently with our tackle program. Please check the Registration Tab on the left for additional information. Flag Football Teams are finalized in early August, and practice begins after August 15th. Parents should expect a call from their coach in early to mid August with the exact time and location for practices. Flag Football practices are limited to two one-hour sessions each week before school starts, and one practice each week after school begins.

Flag Cheerleading Teams are finalized in early August. Practices will be held at the Opatut Park on Tuesdays & Thursdays starting mid in August and will be limited to one hour.

Flag football games are held on Saturday mornings between 9:00 and 11:00AM at Opatut Park. In the event of heavy rain, games may be rescheduled at the discretion of the Flag Football Commissioner.

National Pop Warner Eligibility Rules:

• A child’s age on July 31st determines his or her age for the season eligibility.
• The Older/Lighter category applies to an older age participant who is lighter in weight. This category allows a player to participate in this particular division.
• A Player’s weight is certified prior to the start of the season, and before each game
• A football player may gain 1 lb. per week after the 2nd week of the season, up to a maximum of 9 lbs. for the season.
• Football players are eligible to play three years at Mitey Mite Division, subject to weight restrictions.
• All cheering programs follow the age guidelines. Weight guidelines do not apply to cheer programs.

Football Policies

Team Assignment Policy
All players will be assigned to a team based on his age and weight in accordance with National Pop Warner rules.

In the event of multiple Teams at the same level, participants will be assigned to Teams by the Football Commissioner and the Team Head Coaches. Our goal is to create equally competitive Teams, balanced by player age, weight and skill level, so requests to place a player on a specific Team are not given a prioritiy in the Team selection process. In the event GFAPW fields a Jr. Midget Team, or multiple Teams at the same level, players will be assigned to teams by a committee of Head Coaches.

Practices
Practice will start August 1. Your coach will call prior to the start of the season with your exact scheduled time and date. In accordance with Pop Warner National rules, all players must participate in 10 hours of conditioning prior to practicing with full equipment, and must complete an additoonal 10 hours of practice with equipment prior to participating in ascrimmage or game. Players will practice 10 hours per week until Labor Day Weekend. After school starts, practice time will be limited to 6 hours (3 days) per week.

Attendance Policy
During the month of August, players are expected to practice 4 days per week, for a maximum of 10 hours per week. Players are expected to practice 3 days per week after Labor Day until the end of the season. Parents are required to phone the Head Coach in advance if their child will miss a game or practice. Excused absences are defined by illness, injury, serious illness or death in family, or a conflict with religious holidays or education. Players who attend practice, but are unable to participate in the majority of the drills will be considered absent. Players missing practice, including excused absences, will be subject to limited playing time at the discretion of the Head Coach, in conjunction with the minimum play rule established by Pop Warner.

Volunteer Participation, Fund Raising and Work Bonds

Each household is required to support the Snack Stand and Game Day volunteer duties, as scheduled by the Team Mom for each Team. Families with participants on multiple Teams will be responsible for volunteer duties in support of each Team. Each household will be required to support the annual GFAPW raffle by selling or purchasing a minimum of one book of raffle tickets. Raffle Tickets will be distributed at the Parent’s Meeting in June. Each family will be expected to purchase the raffle tickets at that time. Work Bonds are refundable at season end, pending the completion of all assigned duties and the return of all uniforms and equipment on the designated date(s).

Refunds
Refund requests must be made in writing prior to August 15th and will be subject to costs incurred for personalized jerseys or apparel, and a $25 administration fee. Raffle ticket money is not refundable. Only participants who fail League Certification due to weigh or health restrictions are eligible for refunds after Aug. 15th.

Coaches Certification Online
You can now access the National Alliance for Youth Sports for Coaches Certification. Please give us the receipt and confirmation of passing, and we will reimburse you.

The following courses are available

NYSCA Online Coaching Clinics NYSCA Introduction to Coaching Youth Sports NYSCA Coaching Youth Football NYSCA Coaching Youth Flag Football NYSCA Coaching Youth Cheerleading

About Pop Warner Football
Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. (PWLS) is a non-profit organization that provides youth football and cheer & dance programs for participants in 41 states and several countries around the world. Consisting of approximately 360,000 young people ranging from ages 5 to 16 years old, PWLS is the largest youth football, cheer and dance program in the United States.

Pop Warner was founded in 1929, continues to grow and serves as the only youth football, cheerleading & dance organization that requires its participants to maintain academic standards in order to participate. Pop Warner's commitment to academics is what separates the program from other youth sports around the world.

As the only national youth sports organization that requires scholastic aptitude to participate, Pop Warner is committed to developing America's young people on the field and off. Each year Pop Warner continues to expand its efforts in team and activity participation, as well as visibility and outreach in the community.

Since 1929, the Pop Warner Programs Philosophy has been that athletics and scholastics go hand in hand. At every level, Pop Warner programs seek to develop well-rounded young men and women who learn not only the fundamentals of football, cheerleading, and dance but also the importance of education in an atmosphere conducive to developing sound character while having a good time.

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 240,000 youths participated in Pop Warner-sanctioned football programs in 2006, and those numbers are continuing to grow.

Safety First
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 12% fewer injuries per capita among 5-15 year olds than organized soccer in the same age range! (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, NEISS)

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, particularly 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.