Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: When does the season begin and end?
A: Practice for football and cheer begins the Monday after the last Sunday in July. The first (pre-season) game is generally on the first Saturday after Labor Day. Regular season games begin the next week and run for 10 weeks, until early November. Football teams and cheer squads that qualify for bowl games or regional championships may be active through the end of December. Teams and squads that qualify for the Pop Warner Superbowl in Florida will be active until early December.
Q: How often are games and practices? What is the time commitment per week?
A: Pop Warner limits participation by children to ten hours per week. During August, teams will practice four evenings per week. Once games begin, teams and squads practice three days per week, with games being played on Saturdays. Games and practices are held every week. The exception to this rule are flag football teams and cheer squads, who practice only three days per week in August, and two days per week for the rest of the season.
Q: Are there activities on Sunday?
A: SMPW generally tries to limit Sunday activities. There are a few exceptions: Cheer Fun Day for younger squads is held the first Sunday in August, the Conference Cheer Competition is held on a Sunday in November, and some Conference and Regional Championship football games may be held on Sundays late in the season.
Q: Where are the practices and games held?
A: All football practices will be held at Bradley Park, weather permitting. In cases of rain, we may hold practices at an indoor location. Early-season cheer practices are also held at Bradley. Later in the season cheer practices move indoors (site to be determined). Home games will be held at either Mission Hills High School or San Marcos High School. Flag teams will play home games at Bradley park, and Mitey Mite teams may also play some home games at Bradley. Away games can be played at any of the other Palomar Conference locations. Some away games will be as close as Vista or Escondido; some will be as far away as Temecula, Menifee, Ramona, or Torrey Pines.
Q: Who coaches the teams and cheer squads? How much are they paid?
A: In many cases, our coaches are parents of the kids in the program. We have been lucky to have some coaches who volunteer their time to our program, even though they do not have kids involved. All head coaches are interviewed and selected by the SMPW Board. Head tackle football coaches are generally required to have previous football coaching experience, are required to be First Aid certified, and must participate in coaching clinics sponsored by Pop Warner. All SMPW coaches and board members are unpaid volunteers, and receive no financial compensation for their service.
Q: Can I choose which team my child is on, or which coach he/she gets?
A: The short answer to this question is "no", but we want you to be comfortable with the process we follow, so here it is: Pop Warner rules determine the division (Mitey Mite, Pee Wee, etc.) that your child qualifies for based on their age and weight (no weight limits in flag), although some children may qualify for more than one division. SMPW will place your child in a division based on where we feel your child will best be able to succeed and contribute to the team. In situations where SMPW has more than one team in a division, player placement is based on a series of decision rules designed to help build balanced teams, while maintaining the player-coach relationships developed in previous seasons. Parents are always allowed to petition for a change of team, but must recognize that SMPW’s overall goal is to build a league of successful teams.
Q: Why is there a volunteer requirement? What happens to my deposit?
A: Football and cheerleading are very labor-intensive activities to organize and teach. In order to carry out all of the tasks related to holding practices and games, we need more help than can be provided by the coaches and board members. In order to provide a quality experience for your children, we are asking parents to spend eight hours helping their team or the league with various tasks (more if you can – eight hours is a minimum requirement, in order for SMPW to succeed those who care must give much more). SMPW will cash the deposit check and hold the funds until the eight-hour minimum requirement is satisfied, at which time $75 of the deposit will be returned. The remaining $25 is used to pay a crew to clean up the stadium after home games. SMPW's Volunteer Coordinator will work with a representative of each team/squad to track volunteer hours.
Q: Why do football and cheer cost more than baseball and soccer?
A: Equipment costs take up the largest portion of your registration fees. The league-owned equipment, worn by each tackle football player, costs roughly $300. We currently try to replace our equipment every 3 years. Football players keep their game and practice jerseys ($50-60 value), and cheerleaders get to keep their uniforms ($xx value). Add in costs for referees, field rental, lights, conference fees and insurance and you can see where the money goes.
Q: How much will my child play?
A: Decisions about playing time and positions are made by the coaches of the team, and are the final responsibility of the head coach. Pop Warner guarantees that players who attend all practices in a week will play at least 8 to 12 plays in a game (most games include 40-60 plays). Coaches will make playing time and position decisions based on hard work, skill, performance in practice, experience and safety. Keep in mind that all teams want to win games, and no coach wants to put a player in an unfair situation where he has little chance of succeeding. First year players should expect less playing time than returning players, until they learn more skills and gain confidence.