Safety

On fields across America, Pop Warner is making our game safer and better, while retaining what makes the sport of football so great for young people. And we’re doing the same for our young athletes in cheer and dance.

• All Pop Warner coaches are given the tools they need to teach the game the right way.

• USA Football’s Heads Up Football training is mandatory for all Pop Warner coaches. Specific modules of Heads Up Certification include: 

  • Coaching and standards for youth players 

  • Proper blocking and tackling techniques 

  • Heat preparedness and hydration 

  • Proper fitting equipment 

  • First aid response, CPR and cardiac recognition 

  • Concussion recognition and response

• Cheer coaches take the YCADA training.

• We are guided by an independent Medical Advisory Committee of neurosurgeons, sports medicine professionals, pediatricians and researchers who are driven by medical science and professional expertise.

We've instituted the nation's most advanced safety measures:

• Mandatory certification of all Head & Assistant Coaches in "Heads-up Football"

• Reduced contact to 25% of practice time 

• Eliminated kickoffs for all younger divisions of play 

• Strict revisions to Referee rules and training to eliminate improper technique 

• Certification of on-field EMTs with Concussion and Game 

• Mandatory equipment certification for helmets and shoulder-pads

Football, cheer and dance offer so much to a young person, from a fun, physically active lifestyle and a sense of teamwork to valuable life lessons like perseverance and sacrifice. To make it possible for them to enjoy those experiences we will never stop working to make them safer.