What to Expect If It's Your First Time Playing Pop Warner Football

If this is your first year playing Pop Warner Football, here is what you can expect. It will not be running around playing catch or playing pick up games during practice. To start you will be doing a lot of running. You have to be in good condition to play football. You will also be doing a lot of agility drills like Back Pedal, High Knees, Carioca, and Calisthenics like Jumping Jacks and Push Ups. Every team does different drills this is just an example of a few basic ones. This will be done before every practice.

Just about all teams do the same things in practice just not in the same order. Each team will run team drills. This will be going over Offense and Defense. You will practice the plays that you will run during games. You will run these plays over and over in order to learn what to do. The Defense will do the same thing.

You also be doing position drills. Depending on what position you will be playing QB, RB, etc. you will be doing drills that will help you get better at playing that position. Again you will be doing those drills over and over again.

There will be times when the coach will do different things from time to time but for the most part practice will be the same each time.

Another thing you need to be prepared for is playing with equipment like Shoulder Pads and a Helmet. You will have to get used to catching with the pads and seeing with your helmet on because it will feel different.

One of the most important things you will have to get used to is the contact. Football is a sport that is played with aggression. Especially when you play at the B (12-14y/o) & A (14-15y/o) level. There are kids on these levels who may have been playing Pop Warner since they were 8 and most are very physical once they get older.

In my 5 years of coaching Pop Warner 1 yr B 4 yrs A, I have seen many 1st year players come in and do very well despite having never play organized football before. A good thing to do is find a camp that is run for kids planning on playing Pop Warner. This way you will get a good idea of organized football

How Well Do You Know The Football Field

If you ever watched a High School or College football game played on a NFL field, did you ever notice all the different markings on the field. Well that's because the markings are different for a High School or College game than they are for a NFL game

The Overall Dimensions
All football fields share the same overall outside dimensions. The outside measurements below include the End Zone. High School, College, and the NFL have overall outside dimensions of:
Length 120 yards
Width 53 1/2 yards

Field Numbers:
High School, College and the NFL all use 6 foot by 4 foot field numbers designating each 10 yard line marker.

Hash Marks:
High School:  The width of the hash marks are 53 feet, 4 inches
College: The width of the hash marks are 40 feet wide
NFL: The width of the hash marks are 18 feet, 6 inches wide

Goal Posts:
Another measurement that is different depending on level of play are the goal posts.
High School: Goal posts are 10 feet high and 23 feet, 4 inches wide
College, NFL: Goal posts are 10 feet high and 18 feet, 6 inches wide.

Now you know the football field

DeBartolo Instructional Youth Football Camp Discount

Want to go to a top notch football this summer, check out the DeBartolo Youth Football Camps. The DeBartolo's own the San Francisco 49ers since the 80's so they know football. The camp is for kids of all ages through high school and of all skill levels. This is a 3 day Fri-Sat-Sun camp

Use Discount Code POPWARNER123 When Registering

Friday
Underclassmen Showcase Camp (5 pm - 7:30 pm) · Open to 8th, 9th, 10th grade athletes at all positions.

Also on Friday there will be a QB & WR Skills Challenge (7:30 pm - 10 pm)· Open to all quarterbacks and receivers of all ages and skill levels there will be QB & WR group challenges as well as individual challenges

A Lineman Challenge (7:30 pm - 10pm) · Open to all linemen of all ages and skill levels Team/unit challenges and individual challenges
Sat & Sun
FREE Coaches Clinic (8am - 10 am)· Open to high school and youth coaches

Super 7 QB & WR Academy (Sat: 9 am - 4 pm & Sun: 8 am - 2:30pm)

· Curriculum designed by QB and WR Experts

· Open to QB's & WR's of all ages and skill levels


Lineman Academy (Sat: 9 am - 4 pm & Sun: 8 am - 2:30pm)

· Open to all offensive & defensive linemen of all ages and skill levels

Date and Cities
New Brunswick, NJ June 5-7 (Fri Night - Sunday)


Oklahoma City, OK June 5 - 7 (Fri Night - Sunday)

Jacksonville, FL June 12-14 (Fri Night - Sunday)

Kansas City, MO June 19 - 21 (Fri Night - Sunday)

Charlotte, NC June 26 - 28 (Fri Night - Sunday)

Seattle, WA June 26 - 28 (Fri Night - Sunday)

Boston, MA June 26 - 28 (Fri Night - Sunday)

Long Island, NY July 10 - 12 (Fri Night - Sunday)

San Diego, CA July 10-12 (Fri Night - Sunday)

Austin, TX July 17 - 19 (Fri Night - Sunday)

Fairfield, CT July 17 - 19 (Fri Night - Sunday)

Nashville, TN July 17 - 19 (Fri Night - Sunday)




For detail info visit DeBartolo Youth Football Camps

How To Be Sure You Make The Weight For Pop Warner

If you’re new or returning to Pop Warner, you should know about the age weight guidline. If you think you might be overweight for your age, now is the time to start losing the weight.

Every year I see kids running around the practice field with plastic bags on trying to lose 5, 10 sometimes 15 pounds is a week or two so they can make the team. This is not a healthy thing to do. Kids bodies at the Pop Warner level are still growing. This is the reason why they let you gain 1 pound a week during the season. When you run around in plastic bags, all your doing is sweating out the water that you need to stay hydrated. Becoming dehydrated can lead to some serious problems including death.

Start excerising during the summer to make sure you will make the weight. If you start early and do a little each day you should have no problem with weight. Also, all that exercise will have you in better shape that most when the season does start. One thing you can do to get in shape is joining a football camp. Joining a camp is a great way to get in shape and improve your football skills at the same time. There are plenty of youth football camps across the country. You really shouldn’t have a problem finding one in your area. If you live in an area that gets really hot in the summer consider activities like swimming get in shape and stay cool.

Along with exercising make sure you eat right. It doesn't make a lot of sense to spend the time to exercise then eat a bunch of junk food for the rest of the night.

Some things to eat are Proteins Good sources of protein include fish, meats and chicken, eggs, dairy, and nuts. Carbohydrates Good sources of carbohydrates include fruits, vegetables, and grains. Choose whole grains (such as brown rice, oatmeal, whole-wheat bread And Fruits and vegetables

Drink plenty of water especially before and after exercising. Avoid drinking soda or juice; they could give you a stomachache while you're working out. If you prefer sports drinks to water, it's OK to drink them. You should know that sports drinks are really no better for you than water unless you are exercising for more than 60 to 90 minutes or in really hot weather. The additional carbohydrates and electrolytes may improve performance in these conditions, but otherwise your body will do just as well with water.

Train smart this summer and have a great season in the fall