First Published in the Grand Traverse Insider – Sunday, July 4, 2010
YMCA Pop Warner: Through the Years
Leslie Swanson
Y Marketing and Media Intern
After 15 years of Pop Warner football at Grand Traverse Bay YMCA, it seemed appropriate to take a look back at Pop Warner’s roots.
Originally dubbed the Junior Football Conference, Pop Warner football was an outlet for inner-city boys to not only let off some energy, but also a safe, nurturing environment to learn the rules of football. Five years after its first season, Tomlin organized a clinic for all 16 teams to take place in April 1934. The night prior to the clinic, temperatures dropped and combined with high winds and sleet to create some pretty nasty traveling conditions for speakers coming to the clinic. Among the list of speakers was Glenn Scobie “Pop” Warner, a legend among active football coaches and coach of the Temple Owls. Warner was the only speaker to show up to the clinic. The 800 players in attendance kept him talking and answering questions for nearly two hours. After the clinic, the Junior Football Conference soon took the name of the Pop Warner Conference.
In less than ten years, the league expanded from just 16 teams to almost 160 teams. Most players were at least 15 years old, although there were a few as old as 30. During the years of the depression, many kids left school. Tomlin saw that as a problem and incorporated literature, speakers, and provided tutors to kids who wanted to stay in school. When World War II came, many of the older players were forced to leave football to fight in the war. Many teams ceased to exist and the league was only left with 42 teams. In 1947, the conference was able to bounce back with 100 teams, but instead of teams being made up mostly of older players as in years passed, teams were made up of primarily younger boys. To accommodate this movement, rules were set up to benefit the younger players and the era of “midget football” was born. Within another ten years, the league had grown to 3000 teams.
In 1970, girls felt the need to join in the fun of Pop Warner football. Cheering from the stands was not enough for them, so Pop Warner Cheerleading emerged and grew at an extremely rapid pace.
In 1983, a flag football program was introduced to teams working with a low budget. Flag football has continued to grow and is an excellent way to train younger players for tackle football.
Today, over 300,000 boys and girls, ranging in age from 5 to 16 are involved in Pop Warner programs nationwide. In recent years, Mexico and Japan have jumped on the Pop Warner bandwagon.
Just as rapidly as Pop Warner spread across the country, it has certainly spread like wildfire in our region. What started in 1995 as 10 football teams across four northern Michigan counties has expanded into over 90 football teams and 25 cheer teams spanning 10 counties with nearly 325 coaches. Bellaire, Benzie, Boyne City, Cadillac, Central Lake, Charlevoix, East Jordan, Elk Rapids, Evart, Forest Area, Frankfort, Glen Lake, Harbor Springs, Kalkaska, Kingsley, Lake City, Ludington, Mancelona, Manistee, Manton, Marion, McBain, Mesick, Onekama, Pellston, Petoskey, Pine River, Scottville, Suttons Bay, and Traverse City make up the 30-town region of Pop Warner football that has been run by the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA for the past 15 years.
Each year, about 2500 kids participate in Pop Warner football. With over 300 kids, Traverse City has the largest participation. A sign up for Traverse City kids only will be held on July 12 at 7:00 PM at the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA. Currently, there are two divisions: Junior Peewee and Junior Midget. Junior Peewee is for ages 8-10 and 60-105 pounds. Junior Midget is for ages 10-12 and 85-135 pounds.
YMCA Pop Warner Football is a travel league, held Saturdays in September and October, and area associations host an all-day slate of games. Y Pop Warner is safe, fun, and a great way to learn the skills of tackle football.
YMCA Pop Warner creates so many wonderful opportunities for boys and girls alike to learn important values such as sportsmanship and teamwork as well as instilling the YMCA’s four core values of caring, respect, honesty, and responsibility.
Visit the following websites for more information: www.gtbayymca.org, www.ymcafootball.com, and www.youthfootball.org.
