This guide is to give you, the parents and guardians of a football player or cheerleader, an idea of what to expect over the football season.

​

Practices
Children *must* be picked up when practice ends at 8:00 PM! Parents and guardians of children on the two youngest teams are encouraged to stay for practice. Pre-season is August 1st - August 30th. Practices are at Foss Park, 5:30 - 8:00 PM, Monday through Thursday. (10 hours per week of practice)Regular season is September 4th - October 28th. Practices are at Conway Park, 6:00 - 8:00 PM, Tuesday through Thursday. (6 hours per week of practice) Late in the season, cheerleading practice may be moved indoors.
Post-season practices are at the discretion of the coaches. Only the first and second place teams play in the post season.

​
Games
During pre-season, there are a few scrimmage games (games that don‘t count) that are scheduled last minute. Usually they are during a practice or on Saturday mornings. At the end of pre-season is the jamboree in which teams from four towns meet, and each town‘s team gets to play a 30 minute game against each of the other towns‘ teams. The jamboree will be on Sunday, August 26th. During regular season, there are 8 weekly games, played on Sundays, beginning September 9th. The youngest team plays only 6 games, mostly on Sundays, but some may be on Saturdays. For teams continuing in the post-season, games are scheduled as they happen. They can be on weeknights or weekend days. Other Time Commitments Sunday August 5th, equipment is distributed. Saturday September 8th is the official weigh-in for the Pop Warner Conference of Eastern Massachusetts (PWFCEM). This is a *requirement* for football players. Your child cannot play if s/he has not been officially weighed and certified for his/her team assignment. (Teams are based on age and weight.) SPW provides bus transportation from Foss Park to the site of the weigh-in. Buses depart in the morning and return around noon. Your child can purchase drinks and snack food at the weigh-in location. Cheerleaders have their own competition on a Saturday in October. Parents and guardians must purchase tickets to attend the competition.Cheerleaders may participate in the Reggie Lewis competition in November. You and/or your child *must* participate in at least one fundraiser for at least two hours. SPW's largest fundraising efforts are two canning drives. There are other smaller fundraisers scheduled during the season. But mostly, we need your kids to be out with cans asking for money during the canning drives.A celebratory banquet is held sometime in the spring or early summer. Players get trophies for their participation in the previous season.

​
Volunteering
Somerville Pop Warner is run by volunteers. No one is paid any sort of wage or salary. There are volunteering opportunities both large and small. For instance, we need help sorting equipment before it is distributed to the kids. We need help with fundraising. We need team parents. People who want to make a larger commitment to SPW can request to join the board. With training, there are opportunities to be a coach or assistant coach. If you have other ideas on how to help, let us know. Uniforms and Equipment SPW provides uniforms and equipment that can be returned and used again. Parents and guardians must provide personal items. Football players must provide their own cleats, socks, and, for boys, if wanted, their own cup. Helmet, pads, mouth guard, and practice uniforms are issued in August after the first week of practice. Football players can supply their own better quality mouth guard if desired. Game uniforms are distributed before the first game. Game jerseys are provided at the games themselves, and should be returned to the team‘s coach after the game. All equipment (except for the mouth guard) and uniforms must be returned at the end of the season. Cheerleaders are responsible for buying their own under garments; red or blue cotton shorts and t-shirts for practice; a cheap pair of white sneakers for practices and games; and socks, t-shirt, good quality cheering sneakers, and hair adornments such as ribbons or curls for competition. The under garments can be one-piece or two-piece. The one-piece looks like a one-piece bathing suit and is known as a “bodysuit” or “lollypop”. The two-piece has “boy shorts” on the bottom, and a “midriff cheer top” or “girls sleeve” on the top. The under garments can be purchased at Holovak & Coughlin Sporting Goods on Mill Street in Arlington - they are familiar with SPW’s requirements. Under garments can be purchased at other stores, as long as they are the correct color. Uniforms for games and competition are provided. Cheerleaders may have the option to purchase reduced-cost personalized team sweatsuits, depending on the level of fundraising done.

​
Money
The registration fee for football and cheerleading is $100 for the first child, $85 for the second child, $70 for the third child, and free for any more children in the same family.
Refund policy is 100% up through the first week of practice, 80% after that until Labor Day.

SPW can always use money. The modest fee doesn‘t even cover the cost of a single helmet. It may look like there‘s a lot of money coming in from concessions and fundraisers, but there is also lots of money going out. We have to pay for Dilboy field, refs, and EMTs. This is over $1000 per home game. We have to pay for equipment and uniforms. We have to pay to have the helmets periodically recertified, and every time, some don‘t pass and have to be replaced. There are fees to the regional and national Pop Warner organizations, and there is insurance. No child is turned away for lack of funds. So if you can donate money or put additional time into fundraisers, please do.