Pop Warner Super Bowl

Beford Heights (Ohio) Saints players on the sideline.

Each year, Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. hosts the Pop Warner Super Bowl. Sixty four teams compete for national championships in 4 different age/weight ranges – Jr. Pee Wee, Pee Wee, Jr. Midget & Midget – in two divisions.

In Division I, a national champion is crowned in all four age/weight ranges. In Division II, Jr. Pee Wee & Pee Wee have an outright national champion, while co-national champions are won in Jr. Midget and Midget. In order to advance to the Pop Warner Super Bowl, a team must win its respective league championship as well as the regional championship.

Founded in 1929, Pop Warner offers programs in 43 states for ages 5 to 16 years old with over 400,000 participants in both its football and cheerleading/dance programs (as of 2008). Pop Warner is the only youth football organization that requires its participants to maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average in school in order to participate.

This year, like the past 12, the Super Bowl was at Walt Disney World here in Orlando. I was hired to shoot for 3 days of the event by Disney, the rest of the time, I decided to work on a feature on the week.

It’s football so as always I had my Nikon D3 cameras, a Nikon 600 f:4, a Nikon 17-35 and a Nikon 70-200 to use. Throw in a couple of on camera strobes and I was ready to roll.

Action wise, shooting Pop Warner isn’t any different than professional or college football. Other than the fact the players are a LOT smaller and slower. I still get low and try to shoot as clean as possible. Plus look for photos in places other than just on the field.

Here are a few of my favorites from the week: