Tackle

overview

The WCWAA Weddington Titans participates in the Pop Warner Little Panthers league based in Charlotte NC. This league follows the age-based division structure. Pop Warner places value on safety measures that make a difference. Players begin practicing on August 1 in preparation for their season openers. Players must meet four criteria to be eligible to play: proof of age, parental consent, a medical examination, and academic fitness.

Registration

Our registration for Fall opens on April 1st and closes July 15th. Please click the button below to see our currently open programs.

Key Dates

Player Evaluations for new players only:  Friday, July 19, 2024; times TBA

Equipment Handouts:  Saturday, July 20 and Saturday July 27, 2024; times TBA

First Day of Practice:  August 1, 2024

Jamboree:  August 17, 2024

First Game:  August 24, 2024

Details

No Individual Stats: Pop Warner only recognizes the athletic accomplishments of the team, not the individual. We don't track personal tallies of touchdowns or yards rushing per game. We don't count sacks or blocked kicks. We applaud the athletic efforts of the team to reinforce the importance of teamwork, with each member.

We don't try to build stars. We don't want to over-inflate a young ego, nor do we want to risk injuring the self-esteem of a young person. Whether our kids have good days or bad, they are still an integral part of our team…and always will be.

Every Kid Plays: In keeping with a team focus, our Mandatory Play Rule means that every child gets playing time during the game.

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Practices:  Depending on the division, there will be 2 - 3 practices each week for 2 hours each.  At the start of the season, before school starts, practices will be heavy as coaches work to ensure that all players meet mandatory conditioning hours as set forth by Pop Warner.  

Games:  All games are played on Saturdays beginning in September; games are scheduled by Pop Warner and are released three weeks at a time throughout the season. There are usually 7 - 9 games in the regular season which runs through the end of October with post-season/ playoff games that could run through the 2nd Saturday of November.  There are no playoffs at the Tiny-Mite.

The Pop Warner Little Panthers League is comprised of 13 organizations throughout the greater Charlotte area.  Games can be played at any of these locations.

Equipment:  WCWAA will provide helmets, pads, game day pants, game day jerseys and socks. Players are required to provide mouth guards, cleats, practice pants and practice jerseys.

Coaching / Safety

Coaches:  Coaches are integral to the success of each season. All coaches are volunteers. We strongly encourage parents to coach teams to help ensure there are enough teams. There will be 1 head coach and up to 6 assistant coaches. Coaches will be required to complete the USA Football Youth Certification and any other classes / assessments set forth by WCWAA and/or PW, in addition to passing a background check, and SafeKids training.  CPR / AED training opportunities are also provided and are strongly encouraged. 

Head Safety:  Safety is our #1 goal.  Please see the Fact Sheet below for the latest concussion information from the CDC. 

Coaches:  If you'd like to volunteer to coach, please click the button below to fill out the Intent to Coach form.  Coming soon!

Rules and Other Important Info:

Certification is an important process. Certification is when the league volunteers check paperwork on every child and weigh every child to be sure that they are eligible to play in a particular age and weight division. Every birth certificate, doctor’s physical, parent consent and report card is checked.

Pop Warner Required Forms

There are National and Local Rules which govern the League. Special rules exist for the Mitey-Mite division, such as no blitzing, no rushing of kicks and using coaches on the field to assist the players during games. Coaches in all divisions must comply with a National Coaches Code of Conduct, and have received instruction locally on other guidelines to make the experience positive for the children.

The schedule for the season runs from mid August through the mid November. The actual game schedule cannot be put together until all teams are certified and it is known how many teams have qualified with the minimum number of eligible players required under the rules.

Parent participation is an important part of the success of our League. Each team needs a team representative. This person helps coordinate paperwork for certification, coordinate coverage of the concession stand and provide information to the parents. Parents are needed to assist the team representative in making phone calls, in working in the concession stand and otherwise assisting the coaches.

Must play rules exist to maximize play time. Players on teams of 16-25 players will play at least 10 plays per game, players on teams with less than 26-30 players will play at least eight plays per game, and players on teams of 31-35 players will play at least six plays per game; also, in the first half a player can play only offense or defense. A play is defined as a play from scrimmage on which no penalty occurs, and does not include kicks, punts or extra points. To make this rule works, parent volunteers (two from a team in each game) are needed to record plays on the must play forms.

Sportsmanship of the players is mandatory. If your child is not showing proper sportsmanship -- respect for officials, coaches, teammates and opposing players -- please discuss this with your child. Each player will be required to sign a behavior and sportsmanship pledge. Your support of that pledge will help promote fair play and character development throughout the League.