Far West Pop Warner: Far West FAQ's

Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. (PWLS) is a non-profit organization that provides youth football and cheer & dance programs for participants in 42 states and several countries around the world. Consisting of approximately 400,000 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.

Far West Pop Warner has been serving West Valley cities for over 40 seasons.  Pop Warner Associations such as Far West cover a certain geographical area and are part of our Arizona Youth Football Federation.  Currently there are over a dozen Associations that belong to AZYFF.

Far West serves a large geographic area that covers parts of Avondale, Goodyear, Phoenix, Glendale, and Buckeye.  Pop Warner is an all volunteer league and volunteer coaches are selected and approved by the Board of Directors in the spring, then fingerprinted and background checked.

Signups begin in April for the upcoming season and in late July teams are formed based on age, weight, and geographic location.  Once teams have formed, practices begin the first week of August.  Games start the last weekend of August and are played on Saturdays at a variety of sites around the Valley.  The season includes playoffs for an Arizona State Championship and an opportunity to continue all the way to Florida for Nationals.

Arizona has produced only one National Champion, the Far West Jets.

Far West teams play their home games on the youth football fields at University of Phoenix Stadium at the Northwest corner of Bethany Home Road and 91st Avenue.

Q. What are the age and weight requirements and how do the weight classes work?

A.  Players are placed in divisions based on their age and weight with lighter players having the option to "play down" a level.  This is referred to as "older lighter".  This is designed to ensure that smaller athletes are matched up against like competition and is done for both safety and competitiveness reasons. See the age/weight matrix in the handout section of this web page for specific ages and weights.

Q.  What equipment is provided... What must we provide?

A.  Far West provides all necessary pads and helmets, however athletes must provide their own cleats.  Teams must raise funds to purchase their game socks and jerseys as well as any special decals, etc., that the team wears.

Q.  Does the signup fee cover everything?  Are there more fees?

A.  Additional fundraising must be done by each team to cover the cost of lights, referrees, and game sites.  This is referred to as the team assessment.  Typically coaches begin the season with an approximation of the total assessment plus jerseys and socks and we have found that most teams need to raise in the neighborhood of $2500.  This is done through a combination of cash donation and fundraising which ranges from selling items to doing carwashes, etc.  

Q. When does practice start and how long does practice usually last?

A. Practice begins the first week of August. Flag practices twice per week throughout the season. Tackle and Cheer practice 5 days per week for the first 3 weeks for a period of conditioning and then 2 days per week for the rest of the season. Practices are typically Tuesday/Thursday, but can different depending on field availability.