Fall football season seems very far away, but signup begins in April for the upcoming 2010 YMCA Pop Warner Football League!
The Grand Traverse Bay YMCA started the Y Pop Warner Football league in 1995 and began with 10 teams and 120 players. The league has grown each year and in 2009 the YMCA expects close to 90 teams with over 2500 players with over 300 volunteer coaches participating in the tackle football.
Presently 25 different northern towns will offer YMCA Pop Warner Football. With nearly 300 kids enrolled Traverse City has the largest number of participants. Each association handles their own registration, has their own board of directors, coaches, and volunteers.
YMCA Pop Warner presently offers two divisions of play for participants. The Junior Midget division is offered for kids age 10-12 weighing between 85-135 pounds. 13 year olds may play but must not weigh more than 115 pounds. The Junior Peewee division is for 8-10 years olds weighing between 60-105 pounds. 11 year olds may play in the Junior Peewee but may not weigh more than 85 pounds. August 1st is the cutoff date for age division.
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.
Traverse City will be hosting three signup dates at the YMCA for interested players. The first is the “early” signup, April 19th at 7:00pm. May 19th at 7:00pm and July 12th at 7:00pm are the two final signup dates. These dates are for Traverse City players only.
If you live in another area and need registration information, please go to the website www.ymcafootball.com to find your local representative. For more information call Barb Beckett, Y Pop Warner Football League Commissioner at the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA main number, 933-YMCA (9622), or check out the main YMCA website, http://www.gtbayymca.org/. News and information about the YMCA can also be found on its blog site at http://newsgtbayymca.blogspot.com/.
