Football Safety Facts and Information

In Pop Warner Football, there is “an absence of catastrophic head and neck injuries and disruptive joint injuries found at higher levels.”

The injury rate in Pop Warner Football is:

less than one-third the injury rate in high school football (AND) less than one-fifth the injury rate in college football (AND) less than one-ninth the injury rate in professional football.

Furthermore, Pop Warner's age-weight schematic protects younger, lighter players, who do not have higher injury rates.

The Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma in New York completed a Pop Warner injury survey in 71 towns covering over 5,000 players in 1998. The injury experience of 5,128 boys (8 to 15 years of age, weight 22.5 to 67.5 kg [50 to 150 lb]) participating in youth football revealed an overall rate of significant injury of 5%, with 61% classified as moderate and 38.9% as major injuries. That's about 1.33 per team per year. No catastrophic injuries occurred, and it was rare for a permanent disability to result from any injury.

Pop Warner Rule Change on Concussions:

2010 Pop Warner Safety Rule Change: Pop Warner Little Scholars Inc. 2010 In Season Safety Rule Amendment Re: Concussions.

Per the Pop Warner Little Scholars Official Rules 2010 Part II, Introduction to the Rules, S3 “NO RULES WILL BE ADDED AFTER AUGUST 1ST UNLESS IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE”, the following rule shall be immediately effective for the 2010 season: Part III, POP WARNER REGULATIONS – ALL PROGRAMS, ARTICLE 17: IMPORTANT POINT MEDICAL (page 23). Click Here for the New Rule

Injury Prevention & Control: Concussions:

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a fall or a blow to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth.

Health care professionals may describe a concussion as a “mild” brain injury because concussions are usually not life-threatening. Even so, their effects can be serious.

Click Here to Visit the CDC Page on Concussions I Download the Fact Sheet