Acton-Boxboro Football FAQs

What Is Pop Warner?
Pop Warner is the only national youth football and cheerleading organization in the USA. It is also the only national youth sports organization to require satisfactory academic progress to participate.

How Big Is Pop Warner?
Pop Warner has leagues in 38 states, plus Japan, Russia and Mexico. In the US in the 1998 season, about 300,000 boys and girls participated in Pop Warner.

When do practices begin, and how important is it for a player to attend practices?
Practices begin August 2, 2008 with "Agilities". During the month of August all teams practice Monday through Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30pm. While this may seem like a lot, it is EXTREMELY important for players to attend these practices! Football is a complex game requiring solid fundamental skills as well as a high degree of teamwork. Players who do not attend these sessions will find it a challenge to catch up. This has caused many families to reconsider their summer vacation plans, so please think about this before you register your child.

Once the school year (and regular season games) begin, each team usually practices two weeknights per week and once on Saturday morning. Speak with your coach about your team's specific practice schedule.

When and where are the games?
The first game is usually the first Sunday after Labor Day. Home games are at the A-B High School football field; away games are usually at town high school fields within 30 minutes of Acton. Games are almost always on Sundays (some teams play Saturday nights), and each team almost always begins their games at the same time, with games beginning anywhere from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. You must always have your child at the field well before game time; your coach will let you know how early he wants the players at the field for warm-ups.

How Do I Find Out If I Can Play Football?
Pop Warner has stringent safety rules, one of which is an age-weight schematic (see below). This system insures maximum safety, since players will be evenly matched in size and physical maturity. Pop Warner also has a "no-cut" rule, which means that tryouts aren't allowed.

However, teams are limited to 35 players. Over the last few years, we have filled up teams quickly in Acton-Boxborough and in some cases have had to turn children away. Please watch these pages for registration dates or contact us for more information.

There are five A-B Pop Warner Divisions. How do you decide which one team a child should play on?
The foundation of Pop Warner has always been safety. The best way to insure the safety of a young football player is to insure that he/she will not be over-matched by size or by age. Therefore, the five Pop Warner Divisions are determined by three factors; Age, Weight, and the judgment of the President and coaches with input from the parents.

*The asterisked (*) provisions in each division allow the so-called older but lighter player to also qualify. The last year of eligibility falls under more stringent weight restrictions, per above.

A childs age on July 31 is his/her age for the season. A player may gain 1 pound per week after the second game, up to a maximum of 9 pounds.

The goal of the Pop Warner age-weight schematic is to control the overall range of weights, from minimum to maximum, and the age of the children on the field at a given division of play. The age-weight schematic is based on growth charts developed by the American Medical Association to include the largest number of kids at a given age. Unfortunately, some children are too small, and others too large, to play Pop Warner Football. But the system has proved extremely safe over many years. As you can see, depending on a child's age and weight there are a broad range of choices. For example, a 100 pound 11-year-old could play on the C, B, or A team. This is where the good judgment part comes in! It's very important for parents to talk with the President about their child's previous experience with football and other sports prior to being placed on a team to ensure that the player gets placed on the proper team.

My child isn't a great athlete... Will he/she get to play?
Along with prohibiting tryouts, Pop Warner also has a "Mandatory Play Rule", which stipulates that each team member must play every game. In fact, games may be stopped at the beginning of the fourth quarter to insert any players that haven't played the minimum number of plays so far.

What equipment will my child need?
Shirts, shorts and cleats/sneakers are worn the first week of practice. ABPW supplies helmets, shoulder pads, game pants & shirt. Required equipment NOT SUPPLIED includes girdles, hip and tailbone pad, practice pants & shirt, thigh and knee pads, mouth guards (mandatory), padded chin straps for helmets and athletic supporter/cup (mandatory)

Do Pop Warner parents have responsibilities?
Absolutely! Most importantly, you do your children a great service by making sure they get to practices and games on time, and with the right equipment. In addition, A-B Pop Warner relies heavily on parents volunteering their time. There are many activities that go into making Pop Warner a great experience -- the snack bar, charting plays, working on the "Chain Gang" -- and it's a great way to get to know the parents of your child's teammates. Ask your friends who have been involved in Pop Warner -- autumn Sunday mornings at the football field are great community gatherings (as long as it's not raining!). Please help out in any way you can!