Register Now for the Giants 2013 Fall Football & Cheerleading. Registration ends June 10th!

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Click Here to register for Lake Norman Giants 2013 Football and Cheerleading

So your son wants to play football. Here's what you need to know. 

The Lake Norman Giants are part of Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. (PWLS) and is a non-profit organization that provides youth football and cheer programs for participants in 42 states and several countries around the world. Consisting of approximately 400,000 young people ranging from ages 5 to 16 years old, PWLS is the largest youth football, cheer and dance program in the United States. Pop Warner was founded in 1929 and continues to grow.  It serves as the only youth football, cheerleading & dance organization that requires its participants to maintain academic standards in order to participate. Pop Warner's commitment to academics is what separates the program from other youth sports around the world. The Lake Norman Giants is the largest youth football organization in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties and the 2nd largest in North Carolina with more than 400 participants each season. We provide practice uniforms, game uniforms, mouthpieces, helmets and basically everything needed to the players except their cleats.

So how are the divisions decided? The divisions the kids play in are formed based on age and weight. The age is based on the age of the player as of July 31^st. All ages are verified by a copy of the birth certificate. When registering, all players must weigh in. This is not the official weigh in but is used as a guideline for determining what division is most appropriate for our players. The official weigh in will be in late August. If a player is too heavy to play in his current division he must move up to the next division. Here is a break down of the divisions:  

Do I need to buy any equipment? Lake Norman Giants provides all the equipment necessary to play football with the exception of socks (RED or WHITE) and cleats. Dicks Sporting Goods is a proud sponsor of the Giants and they carry a great selection of socks and cleats. Mouth guards are provided but we recommend purchasing at least one more.
 

Is the equipment safe and in good condition? Our equipment inventory is in the best shape it has ever been. Every year we rotate out older equipment and replace it with new. None of our equipment is more than 3 years old. Each year we have every helmet inspected, certified as safe and reconditioned. This ensures that our equipment is in the safest condition possible. This year we purchased many new Schutt Vengenence helmets which are rated the highest in it's class.

 
This will be my son’s first year playing tackle football, what can I expect? Football is very demanding and it is not quite like any other sport that your son may have played up to this point. I’ll say it here and your coach will probably say it a few more times, it is very important to not miss practice. Each position in football is very specific. It is not easy to interchange players if one is missing. This really disrupts practice and could affect playing time if your son is not prepared to play. Please plan your vacation schedule accordingly. It's not a deal breaker if you already have vacation planned in the first couple of weeks in August, however, it will put your son behind the other players until he can catch up. Football goes from August 1 to mid November . The Tiny Mite and Mitey- Mite teams will practice two nights per week and on Saturday. Once the season starts after Labor Day weekend the Saturday practice will be replaced with a game. From Jr Pee Wee up there are three practices per week. Once the season starts there are still three practices per week and a game on Saturday. I would encourage you to come and stay for each practice. Not only will you get to see the progress your son is making but you get an opportunity to meet a whole new group of friends because you’ll be spending a lot of time with them. 

Is football safe? I’m worried that my son could get hurt. OK, so let’s get this out of the way, football is a contact sport. This is why coming to practice is important. The coaches take a lot of time teaching the proper techniques for contact. It is emphasized over and over again. There are going to be bumps and bruises, it is a contact sport. Honestly though, the injuries and broken bones I have seen came from players horsing around at home with friends and not so much on the football field. Let’s face it, injuries happen. They happen at home and at school. Injuries can happen on the football field but at least in football the boys are wearing protective gear and are coached in the proper and safe way to make contact. Statistics show that Pop Warner football has fewer injuries than playing Soccer!
 

The Lake Norman Giants is an organization of great volunteers with one goal in mind: “Building champions for life”.  Please consider volunteering your time to this great organization. If you want to see what we are all about come out and watch our games. There is no admission charge to our games. (Unlike other organizations in our area!) Our home games are played at Hough High School on Saturday mornings beginning the first Saturday after Labor Day. The games start at 9:00 AM and continue all day with the last game of the day starting at 7:00 PM. If you have any additional questions please contact one of the board members or send an email to lkngiants@lkngiants.com. We hope to have your family join our family of Giant players, coaches and families!

Required Documentation for Registration (all of these docs are included in your online registration with the exception or your son's report card and birth certificate. You will find a print documents button on your home login page after you register that will allow you to print all of your forms listed below already pre-populated) 

1. Participant Contract and Parental Consent- This Pop Warner document is the basic registration form and contract signed by participants and their parents agreeing to the rules of Pop Warner. click here

2. Physical Fitness & Medical History Form- This Pop Warner form is a signed statement from an examining physician licensed in North Carolina that a candidate is physically fit and there are no observable conditions which would prohibit his or her participating in football. Please Note – The Physical Examination must be on the Pop Warner Form and dated within the current year – after January 1st of the current year.  click here

3. Proof of Age- A copy of the birth certificate is required. Passports may be used as well as Military ID cards. If you don't have a copy of your son's birth certificate you can get it by going to this website and ordering one. click here 

4. Scholastic Fitness- The most recent complete report card (containing all four quarters of grades and the final grade for the previous year) or a completed Pop Warner Scholastic Eligibility Form or a Home School Form are required. We simply need a copy of his final report card. We understand that you may not get that until mid June so you may either bring it with you to equipment pick up or fax it to 704-919-5301 with a cover sheet stating whose team your son is playing on.