Named after | Pop Warner |
---|---|
Formation | 1929 |
Founder | Joseph J. Tomlin [1] |
Type | Non-profit |
Headquarters | Langhorne, Pennsylvania |
Region | United States |
Website | Official website |
Pop Warner Little Scholars, commonly known simply as Pop Warner, is a nonprofit organization that provides activities such as American football, for over 425,000 youths aged 5 to 16 years old, in several nations. It is the largest youth football organization in the United States. [2]
Its headquarters are in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Pop Warner Little Scholars is named after football coach Pop Warner, who heavily contributed to the organization in its early years.
Division | Age requirements | Weight requirements | End-of-season max |
---|---|---|---|
Junior Tiny-Mite | 3-4 | ||
Tiny-Mite | 5–7 | 35–75 lbs | 79 lbs. |
Mitey-Mite | 7–9 | 45–100 lbs | 104 lbs. |
Jr. Pee Wee | 8–10 (11) | 60–115 lbs (60–95 lbs) | 119 lbs. (99 lbs) |
Pee Wee | 9–11 (12) | 75–130 lbs (75–110 lbs) | 134 lbs. (114 lbs) |
Junior Varsity | 10–12 (13) | 90–155 lbs (90–135 lbs) | 159 lbs. |
Varsity | 12–14 (15) | 105–180 lbs (105–160 lbs) | 184 lbs. (164 lbs) |
Unlimited | 11–14 | 105+ lbs | Unlimited |
Some divisions allow "older but lighter" players who meet the age and weight requirements in parentheses. [3]
In the 2010s, there has been much controversy about football and brain health, with a number of studies focusing not just on the occasional concussion, but also on the large number of sub-concussive hits. One game in particular in 2012 resulted in five concussions. [4] In 2015, a family sued Pop Warner over the suicide of a former player who was later found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), claiming that the organization knew or should have known about the risk of head injuries. [5] Several other lawsuits have been filed against Pop Warner for related cases. [6] [7]
In 2016, the Pop Warner league banned kickoffs in an attempt to reduce high-speed collisions that result in concussions. [2]
A 2018 study found that tackle football before age 12 was correlated with earlier onset of symptoms of CTE, but not with symptom severity. [8] [9] [10] There have also been advocates for flag football only before certain ages. [11] [12]