POLICIES
UNIFORMS
Uniforms for both football and cheer will be ordered based on the sizing determined at one of the mandatory equipment days. Participants that do not attend an equipment day event must make special arrangements to be fitted prior to the bulk uniform order is placed. Failure to be fitted prior to the uniform order will result in that participant being charged for the expedited shipping on his/her uniform as well as not being able to play for lack of uniform.
DIVISIONS AND WEIGHT RANGES
Players will be weighed in at registration in the spring and again at the team meeting in the fall. If a player is five or more pounds over the weight limit for his division as of the first practice, he will move up to the next division and be placed on another team. The asterisked(*) provisions in each division allow the ‘older/lighter’ player to qualify for that division. The last year of eligibility falls under more stringent weight restrictions as designated below. A child’s age on July 31st is his/her age for the season. A player may gain one pound per week starting with the second season game, up to a maximum of 9 pounds for the season.
PRACTICES
Practice schedules will be set by the head coaches and will start on August 1. Pop Warner National mandates 20 practice hours for conditioning and practice before players can put on their pads, stunt, tumble or participate in a game/scrimmage.
National Pop Warner rules require:
10 hours of conditioning (No pads for football, No stunts or tumbling for cheer) followed by
10 hours of player readiness (No scrimmages for football, Stunt and Tumbling progressions only for cheer)
MAXIMUM of 10 hours per week, 2.5 hours per day of practice prior to Labor day
prior to any athlete participating in regular practice activities.
It is VERY difficult for players missing any of these practices to “catch up” to the rest of the team in terms of development and understanding. Therefore, we ask that each player makes the effort to attend every practice in August. Otherwise, the athlete will have to spend time while the rest of the team is practicing, making up those condition hours under a Pop Warner certified coach’s supervision before being allowed to participate in the rest of the team activities.
Please plan your August travel plans accordingly!
Practice time and locations will vary depending on team assignments and field/space availability.
GAMES
When the season begins, we will play our home games at Vandegrift High School, and away games on fields throughout central Texas. Game times and locations are assigned by the Hill Country Pop Warner organization. The schedule usually comes out just before the first game is to be played and may change during the season. Four Points Pop Warner has no control over the schedule – we encourage our teams to be flexible.
Regular season games are played on Saturdays with the season typically beginning the first weekend in September, Labor Day, and running through the end of October. There may be one Sunday game in order to accommodate the Central Texas Cheer Competition. Our football players are strongly encouraged to attend this event to root for their cheerleaders!
Playoffs for Junior Pee Wee and Pee Wee will begin the following week for those teams that qualify and can potentially run through the first week in December (National Championships in Orlando, FL). Competition for qualifying cheer teams continues through regional championships in November and National Championships in December.
FPPW registration fees do not cover travel costs incurred to participate at the Regional or National Championships.
ADULT CODE OF CONDUCT
National Pop Warner ADULT CODE OF CONDUCT:
S1: In order to uphold the goals of Pop Warner and ensure that all participants have the benefit of a safe and fun learning environment,all parents, guardians and other adults and attendees of Pop Warner events, including but not limited to practices, competitions,and banquets, must behave accordingly in a respectful,courteous and sportsmanlike manner at all times.
S2: Any adult who is using alcohol, tobacco or non-prescription drugs and/or appears intoxicated at a Pop Warner event, and/or who is flagrantly rude, attempts to intimidate, verbally abuse,heckles, taunts, ridicules, boos, throws objects and/or uses vulgarity or profane language/gestures with an official, coach,volunteer, staff member, participant or other event attendee, must receive a verbal warning and/or be asked to leave a Pop Warner event. The member organization may also provide a written warning to the individual regarding the misbehavior.
The adult’s children may also be removed from the event. Any adult who commits one of the above stated offenses a second time, will be banned from any and all Pop Warner events for a minimum period of one year from the date of the second offense, and their children may also be removed from the program(s) for that time period.
S3: Any adult who physically or verbally assaults an official, coach,volunteer, staff member or participant or threatens grave bodily harm may be banned from any and all Pop Warner events at a minimum for one year from the date of the offense, and their children may also be removed from any and all Pop Warner programs for that same period of time. After the ban has expired, if the individual commits another offense of the adult code of conduct, the individual will be permanently banned from any and all Pop Warner events and the individual’s children may also be permanently removed from any and all Pop Warner programs.
MEMBERS CODE OF CONDUCT
All volunteers and partcipants will abide by a Code of Conduct which includes the following provisions. If any of these rules are broken, the League, Region and/or National Pop Warner shall have the authority to impose a penalty.
Members shall:
S1: Not smoke and/or use smokeless tobacco on the field.
S2: Not criticize players/spirit participants in front of spectators, but reserve constructive criticism for later, in private, or in the presence of team/squad members if others might benefit.
S3: Accept decisions of the game officials and judges on the field and in competitions as being fair and called to the best ability of said officials.
S4: Not criticize an opposing team, its players, spirit participants, coaches, or fans by word of mouth or by gesture.
S5: Emphasize that good athletes strive to be good students and that both are physically and mentally alert.
S6: Strive to make every football and spirit activity serve as a training ground for life, and a basis for good mental and physical health.
S7: Emphasize that winning is the result of good teamwork.
S8: Not engage in excessive sideline coaching and shall not leave the bench area to shout instructions from the sidelines.
S9: Together with team officials, be jointly responsible for the conduct and control of team fans and spectators. Any fan who becomes a nuisance and out of control will be asked to leave.
S10: Not use abusive or profane language at any time.
S11: Not “pile it on;” not encourage their team to get a commanding lead and raise the score as high as it can. In these instances, every effort shall be made to let all players play.
S12: Not receive any payment, in cash or kind, for services as a coach in Pop Warner Football/Spirit. This includes any coach, expert, consultant or choreographer, regardless of his/her roster status.
S13: Not permit or encourage “sweating down” tactics in order for a player to make the team weight.
S14: Not recommend or distribute any medication, controlled or over the counter, except as specifically prescribed by participant’s physician.
S15: Not permit an ineligible player or spirit participant to participate in a game.
S16: Not deliberately incite unsportsmanlike conduct.
S17:Not possess or drink alcoholic beverages and/or use illegal substance(s) on both the game and practice fields.
S18: Remove from a game or practice any participant when even slightly in doubt about his/her health, whether or not as a result of injury, until competent medical advice is available.
S19: Be responsible for and Control their fans at all times.
S20: Uphold all rules and regulations, National, Regional & Local,regarding Pop Warner Football, Cheerleading and Dance.
S21: Refrain from engaging in any action within or outside Pop Warner which reflects negatively upon, or causes embarrassment to, the PW program
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PARENT’S ROLE
Four Points Pop Warner is a completely volunteer-run organization. The success of our association relies on our talented parents actively participating, whether it be as a coach, team mom or during our games.Each home game requires volunteers from each team to track the number of plays completed by each player, run the down markers, announce or hold the chains.
If you are planing to actively participate with your team (outside of only game day activities), you will be required to complete a volunteer application and a background check must be cleared before you can participate. This is a National Pop Warner requirement. The volunteer applications will be kept by the team mom and will be returned to you at the end of the season. The volunteer application may be found in the Registration/Forms section.