Dear Parents and Participants,

As the Mustangs of Merritt Island President, I want to thank you for your family’s involvement in our program for the upcoming season. As a previous coach and volunteer in our program, I know the amount of time and effort it takes to prepare a team and league for play. I would like to thank you in advance for making the commitment to this league, and I look forward to working with you this season.

Please Take Time to Volunteer

For those of you that do not know, we begin preparation for the upcoming season in January and work all the way through to the end of our current season. I would like to encourage all of our families to become more involved in our program. This is a volunteer based organization and without parent participation it will be impossible to grow and improve our program.  When we ask for your assistance, please help. Parents normally perform concession duties, Field Setup/Break Down, etc. We also need volunteers for various other functions that greatly assist the coaches, the players, and the league overall. Without parent involvement, the league simply could not exist.

Practice Days

With Florida's unpredictable afternoon thunderstorms, practices may be cancelled or delayed at a moments notice.  Please make sure your child has access to you or an approved guardian for every practice. For the safety of all the participants, there must be a car waiting for them at all times until practice can either be cancelled or can be continued. Even if the weather is clear, practices may end early, and without sufficient warning or communication from coaches or team parents. Every participant must have transportation with either a parent or guardian at every practice. Again this is for the safety of everyone involved. If you are unable to be there for the entire practice, please make accommodations with either the coach, team parent, or another parent to ensure your child has transportation if needed.

Competitiveness/Playing Time/Positioning

Pop Warner is a very competitive program, not only here locally, but throughout the United States. Although our league and Pop Warner encourages as much playing time as possible, winning is important to the players and to the parents. We coach to improve the skills of all players, but also to win. Coaches are trained to evaluate the players and determine where they can best be suited to help the team. Not all players will perform at the same level or have the same desire to play and perform, but all players will participate.  The coaching staff determines which 11 players will start on the field and they will rotate in all others. Some players may be advancing at a slower pace and are rotated into the game accordingly.  Parents have to realize that there are players that are playing tackle football for the first time, and are unsure if tackle football is the right game for them.  Ultimately, it is the head coach (along with the coaching staff) that will determine a child’s level of play in accordance with Pop Warner regulations.

Depending on the size of the team, each player is required to play the Mandatory Playing Requirement (MPR). While the Mustangs of Merritt Island Pop Warner Board accepts and enforces the Pop Warner MPR rules, the Board will not dictate how many more plays a player will participate in during a game.

Unlike other sports, each player is usually given a position to play. Each position has different demands, skills, and coaching requirements. In order for the child, and likewise the team to improve, players must learn their respective position fully. Unlike other sports, a player cannot simply rotate from position to position and experience every position in football. Each position has different requirements and responsibilities that one can only learn and improve upon with repetitions and experience at that position.

Continued Growth

Finally, I would encourage you and all of our coaches to recruit new families into our organization so that we can grow our football and cheer family! There is a long history of coaches recruiting players for their teams and that tradition will continue. I am committed to doing what I can to continue to improve what others have done before me, and with your help I know we can do it.

We are always looking for coaches, so if you are interested in coaching, or if you have any questions, please send me an email to [email protected] and I will respond back to you as soon as possible.

I look forward to serving you in 2023 and helping our children become better football players and cheerleaders while keeping our program as one of the best in all of Florida!

Best wishes for your family and GO MUSTANGS!

Aaron Smith 

Mustangs of Merritt Island Pop Warner, President