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• The Physical/Medical History Form is a “detailed” medical form with information about allergies, asthma, and medical issues.  This form will be carried in a binder by your child’s coach to each practice and game. This way, if there is a medical emergency, the trained medics will have immediate access to the child’s medical history and also have immediate information so they can contact the pediatrician if necessary.

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• Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. (PWLS) is a non-profit organization that provides youth football and cheer/dance programs for participants in 43 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/dance program in the United States. www.popwarner.com
• The mission of PWLS is to enable children 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 children will use throughout their lives.
• Pop Warner was founded in 1929 and continues to grow and serve 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.
• 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.

• Every coach, assistant, coordinator, football committee member and team parent is required to submit to a background check. Pop Warner requires the checks to ensure the safety of your child – we want to know who is having regular contact (defined as assisting with 2 or more practices, games or functions) with the players. Pop Warner and MARA want you to know that we have done everything in our power to ensure the safety of your children and their siblings when they participate in Pop Warner activities.

• Players must be present to be fitted for equipment. We cannot issue equipment to a parent without a player present.
• Our inventory system uses barcodes which means we track the equipment as it is checked in and out. Parents need to bring a deposit check for $175 made out to MARA to secure their equipment. If equipment is not returned at the end of the season, a charge will be placed on the family account and the deposit check cashed - you will be unable to register for future programs until the charge is cleared. Parents will sign for receipt of equipment, so please come in person with your player.
• If you choose to purchase a helmet or shoulder pads rather than using those issued by MARA, you will be asked to sign a liability waiver.
• As a reminder, we provide a game jersey, helmet with chin strap, shoulder pads, one pair of socks and one pair of pants with integrated pads. The pants can be used for both games and practices and will be returned at the end of the season along with the helmet, chin strap and shoulder pads. Your player will keep the game jersey and socks.
• You will need to purchase cleats and a mouth guard. Families often choose to purchase an upgraded chin strap for the helmet.

Is Pop Warner too rough for my child?

• Only you and your child can answer this one. Please keep in mind....this is tackle football. It is not a sport for every child. Please discuss this with your child and any of our Football Committee members prior to registering if you have specific concerns.

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When does the season begin and end?

• The season starts the first week of August and with post season play, it is possible to carry into November and beyond.

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How much time is involved?

• Pop Warner Football is a BIG time commitment on the part of both players and parents. It will be much different than recreational sports (soccer, basketball, baseball). The first 2 weeks of the season are considered "conditioning" weeks. Before school begins, players will practice four nights a week for up to 2.5 hours per night. Once school is in session, this will be scaled back to three night per week.

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What time do teams practice?

Practices are up to 2 1/2 hours long - typically 2 hours - and commonly run anywhere from 6:00pm to 8:45pm with some variance depending on the coach’s schedule. Note: Temperatures are quite high during the beginning of the football season. It is imperative that your child drink plenty of water during the football season. This includes the night before practice and during the day before practice. We cannot stress this enough. DRINK WATER and bring plenty of water to practice!!!

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NO. They are volunteers who donate their time to help our kids. This entire program, in fact, is run by volunteers who put in a great deal of personal time to make this program available to your children. Please keep this in mind…our staff has the same professional and personal responsibilities as you with the added responsibility that comes along with volunteering. If you are interested in committing some time to the program, please contact the football committee via [email protected]

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 Do we have to buy all the equipment?

NO. MARA provides helmets, shoulder pads, jersey and game pants. All this equipment must be returned at the end of each season.

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What equipment do I need to buy?

Players will need a pair of football cleats, a cup and athletic supporter, practice pants (integrated pads), practice jersey, and game socks. Chin straps will be provided but our stock is limited to those that come with the helmets and these are often not as comfortable as others on the market.  We also recommend that each player purchase a football girdle (integrated pads) that can be worn under practice/game pants. This makes the process of donning your uniform easier, especially for young/new players and it provides additional pad protection.

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How much will my child play?

All team members will play. Coaches will determine what positions each child is best suited for and as a result some will play more plays than others. Every division has a minimum number of plays that each child must play. This is frequently referenced as "the MPR rule". (MPR = Minimum Play Rule). Like any sport, the more the player puts in, the more they will get out.

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Why do football coaches yell so much?

Imagine if you invited 25 boys over to your home, put pads and helmets on them and told them to hit each other as hard as they can, knock each other down and then do it again, and again... and again, what would happen? This is a contact sport and coaches are responsible for teaching the kids not only how to play football, but how to do it properly so no one gets hurt. This requires a lot of cooperation, teamwork and respect for each other and to this end; coaches will make sure they are heard.

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Can we vacation once practice starts in August?

Yes, but they will be at a disadvantage.  Much of the Offense and Defense is taught in the first two weeks.  The first two weeks are Pop Warner mandatory conditioning sessions and required before a player can practice with full equipment. When players miss practice it can affect the whole team. Also Pop Warner rules do not allow players to participate in games if they do not meet the minimum number of required practice hours. The short answer is "yes" but there are consequences to missed practice time that should be discussed with your coach prior to your departure. Don't let it be a surprise that your child misses a game if s/he can't get in the required number of practices beforehand.   ALL THAT SAID, this happens often, and players recover as the season goes on.  We would rather have them play then not play, so this is something that can be worked through, but we want to set expectations that it can set them behind a bit and could impact playing time in the early part of the season.

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Game Schedules

All scheduling is done by the Executive Board of the Pop Warners Little Panthers, www.popwarnerlittlepanthers.org. MARA plays against any of 14 other associations in the league.

After the first several games, the Executive Board will take measure of each team’s record and then schedule the next games against teams with similar records. While this does not guarantee each team will get a victory, it is an effort to get more evenly matched and competitive games. Teams that are very successful after the first six games will advance into the playoffs and have the opportunity to play in the Optimist Bowl.  Those teams not advancing to the playoffs, and any losing a playoff game, will continue to be matched with teams with similar records. If a team wins the Optimist Bowl, it will have the right to represent Charlotte in the Pop Warner Regional playoffs and could eventually advance to the Championships in Disney World.

It is important to note that the game schedule for the match-up games is only published one week at a time since the Executive Board is not able to forecast the W-L records of teams.

All teams plan to have nine games, with the regular season ending on October 27th. There is a chance that your child’s team might have a BYE once during the course of the season due to an odd number of teams and only have eight games.

Middle School Football and MARA

Players cannot play on both their middle school team and a Pop Warner Team at the same time.  However, if a player leaves the middle school team for any reason, they are eligible to rejoin their Pop Warner team as long as they were registered with the Pop Warner team before the registration end date.

The Pop Warner season starts before and ends after the middle school football season.  Most seventh (7th) graders do no not make their middle school team.  The middle school "must play" rule is one (1) play per game.  A typical "must play" rule on a Pop Warner team is eight (8) plays, which does not include special teams, or plays that result in a penalty.  Middle School Football has a running clock and does not play in games after dusk (most middle schools do not have field lights).

Pop Warner players have a chance to play in a National Championship Game in Florida at Disney World in November

A player may register with the MARA Colts and practice in August and if they make their middle school team in September leave the MARA Colts and then return when they leave their middle school team.