With the implementation of a new girls flag football team, the high school opens up a new pathway for many female players in the school. The first game was on April 4 and they won 31-20.
The new team was first announced this year and tryouts took place on March 5-6. When tryouts ended, 16 girls were selected for the team.
With any new team or season, the players and coaches have been going hard at practice, according to head coach William Coddington.
“We practice two to three times every week, doing various drills. I am a coach who believes in making the drills in practice as close to a real game as possible,” Coddington said. “We have been doing nothing but practicing for over a month.”
The beginning of a season often sparks excitement for many, but the start of girls flag football offers new aspects to be excited about.
Girls flag football entering many highschools locally has been an important step in giving girls opportunities everywhere, according to many members of the team.
“I feel like it’s just an opportunity for girls to get another sport and be included in different opportunities of football,” freshman Elisabeth Word said, “because there’s not really many tackle programs for girls, and I feel like flag fits more for girls than tackle would.”
Coddington agrees on the new sport’s importance. “I think it is different and is going to grow exponentially in popularity; it already is. I think there were 50 teams in the area last year and now there are almost 100,” Coddington said. “The NFL is backing it, and I just really think it is going to take off.”
Prior to playing on the team, many of the girls had different levels of experience in football.
“My only experience was playing with my brother, I never really played before,” senior Olivia Koch said.
While some players did not have much experience, Word has a long history with the sport. “I have been playing since I was in 6th grade,” Word said.
The team is taking their first season very seriously, according to senior Layla Meehan. “We are definitely very competitive with everything that we do, while still having fun,” Meehan said. “At practice, we know when it is time to be serious and when to have fun.”
The team got the chance to visit Lincoln Financial Field on March 16, along with many other schools.
Meehan said that the experience was exciting. “It felt like we were in a professional media day,” Meehan said.