Through sisterhood, the girls’ flag football team has been able to find success in their third season, with hopes of growing the sport.
According to Coach White, when it comes to how the team finds its success, it is through their toughness.
“I would tell you we have a tough group of young ladies,” White said, “and that helped us change from where they started.”
Coach Matt Haines believes that it is due to their athleticism that they are able to thrive on the field.
“There is a good core of very athletic girls, “ Haines said. “They’re open to learning and trying new things, and they push themselves, again, because they are athletic.”
According to junior Liz Word, there have been many standout leaders on this team.
“I think [senior] Alaina Picard [has] been able to play both sides of the ball,” Word said. “She really brings up the team energy. She is always cheering [for] people other than herself, winning or losing.”
On the topic of group leaders, Haines agrees with Word on who the leaders are
“I would say leaders on the team are Alaina Picard, Liz Word, [senior] Jackie Lee, [junior] Avery Dunning,” Haines said. “Those are the three or four that have been with us from the inception of it.”
According to White, there is a long list of seniors and juniors who help lead the team.
For Haines, when the opportunity came up to become a coach, it seemed like a fit.
“[Assistant principal] Bill Coddington responded to that initial email, and then was allowed to take the job and start the program in year one,” Haines said. “The opportunity came up for us to start something new here in girls’ flag football, and it seemed like a natural fit for us to coach again.”
According to Word, the best part about the team is the girls.
“Our senior class is really fun,” Word said. “Everybody is really fun. It makes it a lot easier to go to practice [and]enjoy games.”
White believes that the best part is that the girls are friends.
“They are friends. They rally behind each other,” White said. “We played CB South two Fridays ago. We were down 12-0. [Junior] Avery Leatherman got put in on offense, and the very next play she scored a touchdown, [and] sparked a match. They rallied behind each other, and we scored the next 36 points.”
Haines shares similar opinions with White.
“There seems to be a really good camaraderie amongst the team. As a coach, you want to build that family model,” Haines said. “I think the girls do a really nice job outside of the athletic arena. There always seems to be talk of something happening outside of football.”
For Word, her motivation for flag football primarily comes from one of her teammates.
“[Kensley Muller] is a freshman, but we play together outside of school,” Word said. “We have this competition kind of thing going on. Coach White does a lot of scrimmages, also. It is really good to have a coach who pushes you.”
As this issue went to press, the team’s record is 6-3.