VCPW seeks to instill in the youth of our community the ideals of good sportsmanship, integrity, loyalty, courage, commitment and respect so that they may grow to be good and healthy men and women. These objectives will be achieved by providing a consistently competitive football/cheer program. It is the balance between the disciplines of football/cheer and the enjoyable camaraderie of teamwork, which provide a fulfilling experience for our young athletes.

PARENT INFORMATION
Parents: This is your program - please realize that the VCPW (Valley Center Pop Warner) runs on 100% volunteer commitments and is available to your children because of parent’s willingness to volunteer time, talent and treasure. As many of you already know the program will be as successful as we make it for our children. The league must count on help from every family. And as you can imagine, with an all-volunteer organization, parent participation is essential. We are looking for volunteers in the following areas to include but not limited to:
Cheerleading Coaching Staff·
Football Coaching Staff·
Team Parent·
Team Equipment Manager·
Gate Attendance·
Concessions & Merchandise·
Field Setup and Maintenance·
Game Markers & Chains·
Fundraising & Sponsorship·
Announcer

WHAT TO EXPECT

Season Overview
Our season runs August 1st-November for football, and through January for the competitive cheer teams who attend nationals. Practices begin the first week of August, and teams typically practice up to 4 days per week during the first 2 weeks. Once school begins, practices will be 2-4 days per week for 1.5-2 hours. We practice at the lower elementary school fields, next to Scibilia softball fields. Games begin at the end of August and are played every Saturday throughout San Diego county and into the Temecula/Murrieta area. 

Weigh-Ins for Mitey-Mite Tackle Football Participants
Each tackle football player will be weighed at registration and again at the beginning of the season to determine and confirm division assignment.  Players must maintain the weight requirements throughout the season for their division. Players will be weighed prior to each game. The first week of the regular season, players must weigh within the published weight range. Each subsequent week, the allowed weight will be increased by one pound. Players are weighed in their uniforms, minus their helmet. The following amounts are added to the maximum weight each week for equipment weight allowances: Mitey Mite: 4 lbs. 

Practices
Practice begins for all participants on August 1st.. We practice at fields in the Apex area designated for each division. For the first 2-3 weeks of August, all participants will practice Monday through Friday for two hours each night. All Pop Warner participants are expected to begin practice on August 3rd.

What to wear?
Flag football participants should wear shorts, t-shirts and cleats. Tackle football participants should wear shorts, t-shirts and cleats. Do not wear football equipment until told to by your coach. After completing 10 hours of conditioning, players will begin wearing practice uniforms and full pads. Every participant should bring a water bottle and mouth piece to every practice. 

Games
All regular-season games are scheduled to be played on Saturdays at various locations around SD county and the Temecula/Murrieta area. Please see below for a list of field locations. Generally, the first regular-season game is on the last Saturday of August. There are games Labor Day weekend. We typically do not receive the game schedule until a couple of days before the first scheduled game, and there are frequent changes made to the schedule immediately after that. We do not have any control over the schedule or when it is disseminated. The regular season usually runs through the first weekend in November for all tackle teams. The Flag, Tiny Mite and Mitey Mite divisions usually concludes their season with an inter-league "bowl" game at the end of the season. Teams in the 10U division and older are eligible to compete in post-season competition based on their win/loss record. Post-season competition may include regional and national championships and/or invitational bowls, which can run through Thanksgiving or into December, if a team goes on to nationals.

Uniforms and Gear
Flag football players wear team jersey and pants during their games. Players are provided the team jersey by their coaches during practice. Players are responsible for providing their own shorts. Shorts worn by flag football players at games cannot have any pockets.Tackle football participants will be provided all necessary equipment and game uniforms, except cleats. Participants must be present at equipment distribution so equipment can be fitted. 

Coaches
Each football team has a head coach and up to four assistant coaches. In addition, the staff includes an equipment manager and a team parent, for a total of seven rostered staff. The commissioner selects the head coaches. The head coaches then select their assistant coaches from the pool of applications approved by the commissioner. Because of the limited number of rostered coaching positions, not everyone who submits a coach application gets to coach. However, many head coaches appreciate the extra assistance of parent helpers at practices. Talk to the head coach about this option if you are not selected as an assistant coach.  All rostered staff must pass a criminal background check.