Three straight! The 2024 fall season marked the third consecutive year that Pop Warner has seen growth in youth athlete participation. Not only have we continued to stem a long slide, but the organization is well-positioned to continue growth in 2025 and beyond.
“We must get better before we get bigger” – a popular quote by Truett Cathy – has marked my 3+ years with the national office. We’ve gotten better as we’ve gotten bigger (and we’re bigger because we’re better):
- Brand Building: With several marketing reels, PSAs and more, we elevated how we told the story of Pop Warner.
- Member-Oriented Mindset: We emphasized the “member” part of leagues and associations and have begun fostering a more service-based approach.
- Know People: We’ve revamped how we receive, retain and track member information to be more engaging, build meaningful relationships and gain better access with the people we serve.
- Listening to Hear: Beyond better communication, we engaged our members to understand them – community advisory boards, surveys, meeting attendance – and did our best to respond in ways they’d feel heard.
- Rules & Governance: Our rules and governance underwent significant revisions to appeal to potential leagues and associations more effectively and complement local high school programs.
- Streamlined Processes: By leveraging digital tools, we reduced the work load for our grassroots volunteers; this led to a notable increase in adoption.
- Cheer w/o Football: We became more open to including cheer & dance programs that were not directly aligned to a football program.
- Talk Progress: If we do the above items well, it will show up in our participation and membership. So we track numbers and celebrate successes along the way.
Here’s to an exciting 2025!