Pop Warner Little Scholars, commonly known simply as Pop Warner, is a
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that provides activities such as
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, for over 425,000 youths aged 5 to 16 years old, in several nations. It is the largest youth football organization in the United States.
[
Its headquarters are in ]Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Langhorne Borough is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,622 at the time of the 2010 census.
The mailing address "Langhorne" is used for Langhorne Borough, but it is also used broadly to describe the majority of surro ...
. Pop Warner Little Scholars is named after football coach Pop Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his in ...
, who heavily contributed to the organization in its early years.
Age and weight divisions
Some divisions allow "older but lighter" players who meet the age and weight requirements in parentheses.
Safety and brain health
In the 2010s, there has been much controversy about football and brain health, with a number of studies focusing not just on the occasional concussion, but also on the large number of sub-concussive hits. One game in particular in 2012 resulted in five concussions. In 2015, a family sued Pop Warner over the suicide of a former player who was later found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...
(CTE), claiming that the organization knew or should have known about the risk of head injuries. Several other lawsuits have been filed against Pop Warner for related cases.
In 2016, the Pop Warner league banned kickoffs in an attempt to reduce high-speed collisions that result in concussions.
A 2018 study found that tackle football before age 12 was correlated with earlier onset of symptoms of CTE, but not with symptom severity.["Study finds youth football tied to earlier symptoms of CTE,"](_blank)
ESPN, April 30, 2018.[Parents, put off tackle football as long as possible, study suggests](_blank)
''Austin American-Statesman'', Nicole Villalpando, May 25, 2018.[Age of First Exposure to Tackle Football and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy](_blank)
''Annals of Neurology'', Michael L. Alosco PhD, Jesse Mez MD, MS, et al., 30 April 2018. There have also been advocates for flag football
Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down. The sport has a strong amateur following ...
only before certain ages.[Former NFLers call for end to tackle football for kids](_blank)
CNN, Nadia Kounang, updated March 1, 2018.
References
External links
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{{American football in the United States
Children's sport
Youth sport in the United States
American football in the United States
American football organizations
1929 establishments in the United States
Sports organizations established in 1929
American football in Pennsylvania