It's fourth and goal for Barrington Pop Warner.

The local youth football program, which has been around for more than four decades, has experienced a significant drop-off in player participation in the last two years. 

League officials met at the high school on Thursday night to discuss the future of the program and debate whether to join with a neighboring football program or refocus efforts to boost enrollment numbers here in Barrington.

Two years ago, Barrington fielded five Pop Warner football teams — players ranged in age from the eighth grade "Unlimited" team, to the 8- and 9-year-olds on the Mighty Mite squad. There was also a Junior Pee Wee team, a Pee Wee team, and a Junior Varsity team.

But this year, Barrington witnessed a precipitous drop-off in registrations. 

League officials, including first-year president Seth Fisher, opted to field two teams: a Junior Pee Wee team and a Junior Varsity team. That left some Barrington players without a team to play for — some of players joined the East Bay Warriors in neighboring Bristol and Warren, while others decided to "play up" on the Junior Pee Wee or Junior Varsity teams. 

Mr. Fisher said coaches did their best to create a positive experience for all the players throughout the season, but that task was difficult at times, as Barrington competed against teams with more older players and fewer younger athletes.

Now Barrington Pop Warner officials are facing a similar challenge for next season — they are concerned that not enough boys and girls will sign up to play for the Eagles. Some of the older players are aging out of the program and there are not enough new young players signing up.

At Thursday night's meeting, parents and coaches discussed the reasons for the dwindling participation and their options for the future. 

League officials could decide to join with the neighboring East Bay Warriors program. The team currently includes players from Warren, Bristol, Swansea and a few other towns. The benefits, said some Barrington officials, would be full rosters for all six football teams. 

"We would have a ton of players," said one Barrington league official. 

But not everyone likes that idea. 

Some parents, including Kevin Robinson, said there are plenty of youth football players here in Barrington. He said organizers just need to do a better job recruiting youngsters and educating their parents, who may have concerns about player safety. 

Mr. Robinson said he would like to plan a forum for parents discussing youth football and player safety. He said the forum would feature a panel of neurologists from Brown University, as well as other experts.

Local parents also proposed establishing a flag football feeder program here in Barrington. They said a number of local boys and girls already play flag football in a Providence league, but would be happy to stay closer to home and play. 

After discussing the issue for more than an hour, the Barrington Pop Warner board of directors decided to have a vote at the league's December meeting, which is set for Thursday, Dec. 7.

It will be at that meeting where the future of Pop Warner football in Barrington will likely be decided. The meeting will be open to the public.