Matthews Athletic & Recreation Association

Matthews Athletic & Recreation Association

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MARA Colts Tackle Football

Registration

Season Info

Coaches & Volunteers

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FAQs

All-American Scholars

The MARA Colts are part of the Pop Warner Football Organization. Besides being around for almost 100 years and well respected in the community, MARA and Pop Warner share a common philosophy regarding children and sports: fun, safety, learning, development, and a focus on scholastics.

MARA Colts Football plays under the local association of Pop Warner called the Pop Warner Little Panthers. The league is made up of 16+ associations across the Charlotte Metro and surrounding counties. It’s one of the largest and longest-standing leagues in the country. We are part of the Mid-South Pop Warner Region.

Divisions

Player's age as of July 31 determines their division.

Division	Ages
8U	7–8
9U	7*–9
10U	8–10
11U	9–11
12U	10–12
13U	11–13

*All 7 & 8-year-olds will be placed in the 8U division.

SAFETY FIRST

All MARA Colts Football coaches and volunteers are trained and required to complete the USA Football Youth Coach Certification Program and undergo annual 50-state background checks. Points of emphasis include: Health & Safety, Football Fundamentals, Concussion Awareness, Emergency Planning, Abuse Prevention, Transformational Coaching, and more. This USCCE-approved and NCACE-accredited certification ensures a safe and structured environment for our players.

Football Registration Listing

2025 Tackle Football

MARA is one of 15 associations participating in the Pop Warner Little Panthers League in the greater Charlotte area. Practice begins July 15, 2025 and games begin in late August or early September.

Tackle Football is for players aged 7 - 13. Player age is based on their age as of July 31st of the current year. The cost of registration is $375 and includes equipment (helmet/shoulder pads), practice jersey, and personalized game uniform. All other equipment (e.g., mouth guards, cleats) are not included and will need to be purchased separately.

There are (currently) six (6) age divisions of play (we may add additional teams in other age divisions depending on registration numbers) :

8U is for 7-8 no weight restrictions

9U is for ages 7-8-9 - no weight restrictions (all 7-year-olds will be moved to 8U

10U is for ages 8-9-10 - no weight restrictions

11U is for ages 9-10-11 - no weight restrictions

12U is for ages 10-11-12 - no weight restrictions

13U is for ages 11-12-13 - no weight restrictions

Refund Policy: Matthews Athletic and Recreation Association (MARA) incurs various league, medical, security, uniform, insurance, and administrative fees which are not refundable to the organization. Therefore, if you withdraw your player fifteen (15) days or more before the stated registration period closes for a sport, we will provide a refund of the total registration fee, LESS A $50 Admin Fee. Otherwise, we do not provide any refunds for a player withdrawing from the program