While Mt. Airy Bulldog organizational leaders have their thoughts about how Pop Warner justifies the fact they have no guaranteed play rule for kids I beg to differ… Get the facts straight before you mislead the parents. ”even Pop Warner eliminates the must play rule at the older levels” here is the actual rule for Pop Warner teams for all age groups similar to our local youth organizations.
RULE 9: MANDATORY PLAY RULE
The following shall be the Minimum Mandatory Play Rule (MPR)
for all Pop Warner teams. Each league may set a higher number
of Mandatory Plays, but never less than the minimum set by
PWLS. All MPRs should be based on eligible players at the time
of the game.
16-25 players - 10 plays
26-30 players - 8 plays
31-35 players - 6 plays
A. The plays must be from the line of scrimmage.
B. Kickoffs, extra points and free kicks shall not be used
in fulfilling the MPR requirement.
C. A play shall not count toward fulfillment of the MPR
if the play results in a penalty which causes the down
to be replayed.
D. All players shall be provided their mandatory plays
by participation in “active” plays, without the intent
to minimize the action or integrity of the plays.
Plays such as, but not limited to, having the center snap
the ball to the quarterback, and then the quarterback
fall to the ground, while substitutes are playing the other
positions, shall NOT be considered as active plays.
E. All players shall receive their mandatory plays by
the end of the third quarter, or they shall enter the
game at the start of the fourth quarter, and remain
in the game until they have received their required
number of plays.
Each League shall establish its own system for enforcing the
MPR, and must print a simple handout describing its MPR in
sufficient quantity so that a copy is made available to each
coach throughout the entire League, before the beginning of the
season. The Nationally preferred system is that used in the
National games.
The MPR is determined by the number of players eligible at the time of the game, and not based on the size of the roster.
Here is a link to a page to the Pop Warner web-site. http://www.popwarner.com/aboutus/benefits.asp?lable=benefits
On this page you will see that Pop Warner has been around for over 75 years and on this page you will see the reasons they believe they have been so successful for so long. Here’s one of them:
Mandatory Play Requirements – Everyone participates under mandatory rules of play. Each league may set a higher number of Mandatory Plays, but never less than the minimum set by PWLS. All MPR’s should be based on eligible players at the time of the game.
Please take note of the fact that Pop Warner “NEVER” allows less play time and always allows more!
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