Lewisville Titans - Pop Warner Football & Cheerleading: F. A. Questions?
Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is Pop Warner?
Pop Warner is the largest youth football and cheerleading organization in the United States. It is also the only national youth sports organization to require satisfactory academic progress to participate.
How big is Pop Warner?
Pop Warner has leagues in 42 states plus Japan, Russia, Germany, and Mexico. Last season over 350,000 children particpated in Pop Warner football and cheerleading.
What kids are able to participate?
Pop Warner participation is based upon age for cheerleading and flag football. For tackle football participation is based on age and weight. This is to ensure maximum safety as players are matched in size and physical maturity. There are no "try-outs" in Pop Warner and participants are registered on a first come - first serve basis until a team/squad is full. Maximum team/squad size is determined by Pop Warner guidelines.
How many teams are there?
There are 14 organizations in NWMFL(Northwest Midget Football League) however, each organization may have up to sixteen squads. In the 2007 season, we have the following football teams: Flag Football(2), Mighty Mite(3), Jr. Pee Wee(2), Pee Wee(1), Jr. Midget(1),Midget(1) and cheerleading squads: Flag Cheer (1), Mighty Mite(1), Jr Pee Wee (1), Pee Wee(1) Jr. Midget(1) and Midget(1)
The tackle football is based on age and weight and flag football and all cheerleading are both based strictly on age.
What are the Age/ Weight Limits?
The data for the 2008 season has not yet been released
Are there geographic boundaries in NWMFL?
There are no geographic boundaries in the NWMFL and you can play for any team provided you meet their qualifications. It is the NWMFL preference that you play with the team you live closest to. Visit our link section to the NWMFL page to see all the teams in our division. If you played Pop Warner football last year on a NWMFL team, you must get a written release from your prior team. You must turn in ALL football equipment in order to get this release.
Can I sign up for two teams and decide later?
No, NWMFL only allows you to sign up for one team. If you played for another team last year and you want to play for us this year, you must get a release from the team you played for last year. This will be handled by the League Reps.
Will my child get to play?
Pop Warner has a mandatory play rule for all football teams. Your child will play in every game, provided the child has attended the minimum required practices, is healthy, at the game on time, and has not had any discipline problems. Each division has different requirements for the mandatory play rule. Each eligible player must get the minimum number of plays as determined by squad size. Play may be stopped if minimum plays have not been given at the start of the fourth quarter.
What is needed to be certified?
All participants must be certified to be eligible to compete. Forms needed include: Titan Application, NWMFL form, certified birth certificate, two copies of final year end report card, updated physical, current photo ids. New photo id's will be made by the organization later. Physical must be dated after January 1st of the year of play. NWMFL forms & football weigh-ins will be done at registration in March. NWMFL officials will do a mandatory weight certification in August. Application requires you agree to follow the Titan code of conduct. Please visit the section of website which shows the code of conduct.
When does the season start and end?
Season normally starts with practice around August 1. Games usually start around the last week in August or the first week in September. Flag & Mitey Mite seasons are over at the end of October. Regular season for all other teams/squads is also over at the end of October. However, competition squads may advance to regional and national competition and depending upon their success can continue until early December.
How often do you practice?
In a normal week the Titans practice three nights a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) from 6:00-8:00 PM (time will change later in season), with games played on Saturdays. Early in the season or during our bye week, practices may be more often. We can not exceed the Pop Warner guidelines for weekly practice schedule.
Where do you practice and play games?
All practices and home games are played at Southwest Elementary School. Away games are played in and around the Winston-Salem area. Games may be played in King, Kernersville, Pfafftown and High Point.
When are games played?
All regular season games are played on Saturdays and normally at the following times:
Flag 9:00 am & 10:00 am
Mitey Mite 9:00am & 10:00 am
Jr. Pee Wee 11:30 am
Pee Wee 1:00 pm
Jr. Midget 2:30 pm
Midget 4:00 pm
Game times are subject to vary with location and games may start early or late due to amount of time earlier games take up. Time schedules may also change if the team we are playing does not field all six squads.
How many games do we play?
Normally there are 8 games in a regular season. Flag and Mitey Mite squads do not compete in post-season play. All other squads are competition squads and may play depending upon their record in the playoffs or bowl games. In 2000 the Jr. Pee Wee Squad made it all the way to the National Championship in Orlando, Florida and played in 15 games that year. Cheerleaders are expected to be at all the games, including any bowl games.
Does my child have to come to all the August practices?
Yes, it is extremely important that your child attend every practice they can. Please keep this in mind for your vacation planning. In the month of August players are introduced to football and the proper method of tackling, hitting, passing and receiving. They also learn their plays at this time. If you child is absent, they will be behind. Football is a team sport and needs all the members to work together to achieve success.
Can my child play other sports too?
Not during the same season. After, or before the Pop Warner season he/she may try out, perform and participate in any Non-Pop Warner program they prefers. (Just remember that our season may not end until December)
How many hours a week can my squad practice?
No team or squad may schedule more than 10 hours of practice per week before Labor Day. A week is defined as seven consecutive calendar days. Not more than two 1/2 hours of practice may be scheduled on any one day. In addition practices after Labor Day are limited to six hours per week, unless no games are played. Practices after Labor Day weekend are not to exceed two hours per day. Water Break time is not included as practice time.
What does the registration fee cover?
Registration Fee covers the use of the cheerleading uniform and shoes,football equipment,Pop Warner Fees & Patches,photo id's, insurance,and Titan physical. Football players get to keep their jerseys. Cheerleaders keep their shoes, socks and bloomers. All participants receive a keepsake Titan Program and Year End Award.
It is very expensive to run a Pop Warner Program. We must pay local dues to Pop Warner, Insurance, Football Equipment, Cheerleading Uniforms, Referee Fees, Photo ids, Pop Warner Patches, Year End Awards, Titan Programs, Homecoming, Football jerseys, Cheerleading shoes, socks & bloomers, field maintenance, cheerleading gym rentals, cheerleading competition entry fees, bowl game entry fees, cheerleading videos,postage,copies, phone bills, electric bills and many other expenses. We subsidize the registration fee by running our concession stand, Titan Store, Program Sponsorships, and other fund-raising projects. We are a non-profit organization and are always looking for sponsorships. Check with your business and see if they are willing to help.
What is the Little Scholar Program?
Pop Warner is the only nationally recognized youth sporting organization that recognizes academic excellence. This is done through our Little Scholar Program. Each year all eligible participants Little Scholar forms are sent to the National Pop Warner Office to compete for the coveted All-American Awards. Only about 5% of all applicants receive this prestigious and highly coveted award, and less than 1% of all applicants receive the "First Team" Honor. For the 2000 season we were fortunate enough to have one First Team All American - Marc Lucas of the Midget Football Squad.
A grade average of 96% is the only average acceptable to submit to Pop Warner for Little Scholar Candidates and just because you have the grade point average does not mean you will be a Little Scholar Winner. For First Team All-American you must have at least a 98.5% grade point average.
Regional Little Scholars are awarded in the Mid-South region and must have a grade point average of at least 95.
Little Scholar Winners are for grades 5th-8th only. Educational activities, various clubs, volunteer involvement in the community as well as honors and awards also help and count as points. Other sporting teams do not award additional points.
Winners are notified by mail in April of the following year. A Local Banquet is held by the NWMFL in May to recognize them and they also receive a certificate and at our Annual Awards Ceremony in January they receive a bar, to add to their Titan plaque.
National Pop Warner decides on the winners and we as an organization do not have any influence in the decision making. Forms must be completely filled out and the higher the grades and the more extracurricular activites the better, but do remember these are extremely hard honors to win and other students have as high grades and many extracurricular activities also.
What is the difference between 1st & 2nd Team Little Scholar
A First Team Little Scholar is one of a limited number of top students in his/her grade category. A Second Team Little Scholar is one of an unlimited number of students who were very near in score to the First Team Scholars (90% of a First Team's Score).
Why do I have to turn in a report card for a younger child?
Even if your child is not in fifth grade, Pop Warner still requires all participants to show satisfactory academic progress to be eligible to partcipate. All squads from mitey mite and up must turn in report cards.
What Can I do if I feel the Referees or Judges are Unfair?
Officiating either football or cheerleading competition is a series of judgements. In any given situation, some people will agree with their decision, and some will disagree. One of the historical perspectives in sports is that the officials' calls stand, that they are final. In addition to the educational goals of a youth sporting organization--discipline, determination, teamwork etc., one of the other things children learn through sports is to deal with adversity.
How do teams advance to Regional/National Competition?
Football Teams and Cheerleading Squads compete first by winning their local league championships. Then the League winners compete for their regional championships. There are 8 regions in the U.S. We are located in the Mid-South region. These winners advance to the National Championships held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida at the Pop Warner Super Bowl in early December.
Who pays travel expenses for Regional/National Competitions?
Qualifying football/cheerleading teams and their associations pay their own travel expenses. The NWMFL League gives each team going to National a small donation, but the total expenses for going to Regional & National Competition can be tremendous and can easily average $1,500 per child. The Titans hold many fund-raisers and do year round planning to help offset the expenses but the amount needed is extremely large and we can only contribute a small amount to each child so ultimately, the remaining balance is borne by the parents. For many children this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to play in the Pop Warner Superbowl or cheer at National Competition. We were fortunate in 2000 to send one football team and three cheerleading squads to Orlando for SuperBowl Week. We also sent two cheerleading squads this past season to National Competition. Please see Titan Fundraising Guidelines for more information about how money raised is distributed.
What can I do if I have a problem with a local team member ?
If you have a problem with a local particpant, please talk to the coach privately and politely. Sometimes they can help ease the situation. Too often the parents, become emotionally wrapped up in a given situation and verbally attack anyone present so please remember that the coaches and board members are volunteers, trying to do their best for the children involved. Please make sure you read and follow our parent code of conduct for these situations.
If I have a problem with a local coach?
Please address all concerns about first with the coach and next the head coach and if necessary for football talk to the Football Director, or for cheerleading address it with Cheerleading Director.
If I have a concern with a local board member?
You may address another board member or the Titan President. However, ultimately all local concerns will be handled with the Titan North West Midget League Representative.
Do I talk to Titan President or League Rep?
League Rep handles all concerns about coaches, playing time, safety, football, rosters, anything that happens on the playing field. Cheerleading Director handles all concerns on the cheerleading side and if the issue can't be settled by her, then the league rep. will handle it.
Titan president is in charge of all the operations of the organization concerning, fund-raising, sponsorship, funding, and budget.
If I have a problem with a League Rep?
Contact the President/Commissioner of your local league.
If I have a problem with a local league administrator?
Contact the local board of the league as a group, or you may write a letter to the National Pop Warner office. The national office will forward a copy of the letter to the local league and regional administrator and request a response.
If I have a problem with a Regional Administrator?
Forward a written outline of the complaint to the Pop Warner national office. Telephone complaints will not receive any follow-up.
How are the Board of Directors Elected?
Our bylaws allow for 15 board members. Up to five board members are elected each year at the annual parents meeting held each January to three year terms. This way experienced people are on the board at all times. To run for the board of directors, you must submit your name in writing to the Titan secretary 10 days ahead of the annual election. You must be in good financial standing with the treasurer and submit a criminal background check. Board members may elect individuals to serve any open spots on the board due to board resignations, throughout the year. If you are interested in serving on the board, please view the board member requirements on the Volunteer page and talk to the Titan President .