Practice Schedule
Practice begins August 1st!
Monday- Friday 6:00pm-8:00pm every night
Labor Day - NO PRACTICE
Schedule after Labor Day:
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday, 6:00pm -8:00PM
NO DROP-OFF'S during practice. A parent or guardian must be at the field for the duration of practice in case of weather cancellations or emergencies.
Practice Uniform:
Cheer: T-shirt and Shorts, Mud cheer shoes
Football: Any athletic shirt & shorts, football helmet, and cleats
The first few weeks are NOT a great time to take a vacation, spend a week at camp, or miss practice. The first weeks for these athletes are comprised of conditioning. CWFCA & Pop Warner rules require that the athletes record 10 hours of conditioning time before engaging in practices with contact. Athletes who miss practice will NOT be allowed to participate in ANY contact until the 10 hours of conditioning are attained.
The season runs from August 1 until the end of October for our younger divisions: Tiny Mite (5/6/7 year olds) and Mitey Mite (7/8/9 year olds).
Our older divisions: Jr. Pee Wee (8/9/10/11 year olds), Pee Wee (9/10/11/12 year olds), Jr. Varsity (10/11/12/13 year olds) and Varsity (12/13/14/15/16 year olds) the season can, and often does like the last several years, run to the beginning of December for the Pop Warner Regional Cheer Competition and National Cheer Competition. Which we ALWAYS intend on qualifying for!
We start off the first 2 weeks of mandatory 20hr conditioning where the cheerleaders practice for 5 days straight to learn game cheers, tumble, jump and condition for the season. No stunting is allowed until the 20hr conditioning is completed. After the 2 weeks of conditioning, your coaches will provide you with a practice schedule. Practices are during the week from 6:00pm - 8:00pm.
The cheerleaders will cheer at approximately 8 football games, which are on Saturdays. Some of our games are away, meaning we could travel to any of the other teams locations in our conference, Peace River Conference. The schedule with times and locations will not be available to the teams until the PRC releases it.
All teams will participate in the local Pop Warner Cheer Competition, the Tiny Mites and Mitey Mites performing in the exhibition only. Competitive level teams (Jr Pee Wee and up) who place 1st and 2nd at the local competition advance to the Regional competition in Orlando. This competition typically falls the weekend of Thanksgiving. Depending on the schedule, you may have to be in Orlando on Thanksgiving day. Teams compete Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Teams are required to be there the day before they compete. Please let your coach know ASAP if you are not willing to participate in this event on a holiday weekend. The coaches begin planning routines early, and if a child cannot commit to this, the coach will need to adjust the routine accordingly for missing participants. Teams placing 1st or 2nd at the Regional competition will advance to Nationals in Orlando at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex the first or second week of December.
History:
Pop Warner Spirit teams have participated for several decades on the football sidelines (Pep Squads, Majorettes, etc.); however, cheerleading was not officially introduced until the 1970’s.
Today, thousands of youth participate in Pop Warner Cheerleading and Dance teams around the United States.
The Charlotte Warriors are the oldest and most accomplished youth sports program in Charlotte County, and were one of the three founding members of the Peace River Conference. Our roots run deep!
The Cheer and Dance Program offers teams a wide range of opportunity for young athletes at all skill levels: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced.
Pop Warner has established one set of spirit rules along with JAMZ, the Pop Warner Education Development Partner and the original developer of the Youth Cheer and Dance Alliance (YCADA).
Together with YCADA, Pop Warner is able to provide online educational courses for its coaches, administrators and judges on team skill levels for Cheer Teams (Core Cheer, Show Cheer PW 1-4) and for Dance Teams (Pom Performance, Theme Dance & Hip Hop). Pop Warner also offers additional competition opportunities in Sideline Performance Cheer.
With continued education, the Pop Warner Coaching Staff provides basic instruction, training and conditioning for both football games and competition.
Teams participate on the sidelines at football games for home and most away games through to the Pop Warner Super Bowl. In addition to Game Day, teams participate in qualifying spirit events (League and Region) through to a Pop Warner National Championship.
The Pop Warner National Cheer and Dance Championships (started in 1988) are now held in December located in ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida.