May 29, 2020

First and foremost, we hope you and your families are continuing to stay healthy and safe during this time! The health and safety of our Pop Warner community – from our student-athletes to our coaches, fans and volunteers – has been our top priority from the start and will continue to be our top priority as we make decisions about returning to practice and play.  

Like everyone from the NFL to the NCAA, we are actively looking at scenarios, planning our approach and taking guidance from the experts. That has meant listening to the direction of the CDC, public health officials, our Pop Warner Medical Advisory Committee and government officials. 

While a sudden shift in the public health picture could alter our timeline, we expect to have our plan for return to practice and play to you later in June. In the meantime, we will continue to communicate the work we are doing and provide regular updates to our programs about the upcoming season. 

In addition to developing our Pop Warner Return to Play playbook, we’ve been working with several other youth sports organizations from around the country as part of the PLAY Sports Coalition to ensure that youth sports return safely and under the guidance of state and local guidelines. As part of that work, we have collectively developed a set of return-to-play considerations which include the following:

• An understanding of the liabilities & the minimization of risk.
• The creation of an operating playbook.
• Communication to field owners, parents, referees & coaches.
• The creation of a learning & feedback plan.

These recommendations are intended to arm youth sports organizations with the tools and resources necessary to develop their own return-to-play guidelines that are right for their geography, sport, and circumstances. The group is also exploring sport-specific approaches that may help guide protocols we may implement for football and cheer / dance.

As always, we appreciate your support while we continue taking the appropriate steps towards a safe return to sports. 

Thank you!

Jon Butler,
Executive Director