Age-Based Divisions
Football Overview
Pop Warner football has been around since the inception of the league in 1929 by founder Joseph J. Tomlin as a four-team conference in Northeast Philadelphia.
Since then, participation has steadily increased to today's record numbers. Over 250,000 youths participated in Pop Warner-sanctioned football programs in 2010, and those numbers are continuing to grow.
SAFETY FIRST:
Leagues have options with how to structure their program. While leagues can continue the current structure where a player is placed in a division based on his or her age and weight, they may also instead choose to register players based on age only. Currently, an estimated 75-80% of youth football nationally follows an age-only structure.
Pop Warner places value on safety measures that make a difference. That’s why we have also done things in football like reduce contact to 25% of practice time, eliminate kickoffs for our youngest divisions and require that any player who suffers a suspected head injury receive medical clearance from a concussion specialist before returning to play.
Beginning in 2019, Pop Warner now offers TWO options for tackle football programs:
Option 1: Traditional age/weight schematic provides a uniform series of three basic years of age qualification for each level of play, with a fourth year of eligibility falling under more stringent weight restrictions (the “older/lighter” player).
Option 2: the age based schematic provides a 2 year age span starting with 5/6 yr. olds. and no minimum or maximum weights.
** 2 point stance for offense and defensive linemen must be used in the following levels of play: TM, MM, JP, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10.
** No kickoffs permitted in the following levels: TM, MM, JP, PW, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10.
AGE-BASED SCHEMATIC
| Level Name | Rules to Follow |
| 5/6 yr olds | Tiny Mite |
| 7/8 yr. olds | Mitey Mite |
| 9/10 yr. olds | Jr. Peewee |
| 11/12 yr. olds | Jr. Varsity |
| 13/14 yr. olds | Varsity |