For most girls, it’s considered a guy’s only sport. For others, it’s a way to meet new people and have a great time every Friday night. That’s right – girls’ flag football is here.
“I feel beast when I’m playing flag football,” freshman Katelynn Gomez said, who is a runningback for the Gold team.
The Lady Raiders are divided into two teams, the Gold and Maroon teams, due to 20 girls signing up. This is the first year for the school to have the club sport, so most of the girls have never played before.
“Being on the team is so much fun,” sophomore McKylie Calligan said, who is quarterback for the Gold team. “I like it a lot. It’s good exercise.”
For junior Michelle Grote, who is a German exchange student, it’s a way to experience something new.
“I feel very Americanized. It’s a new experience,” Grote said. “It’s so typical America.”
Vista Ridge, Leander, Round Rock, Cedar Park and Westwood are all part of Centex Flag Football. Teams played every Friday for the past seven weeks, not to mention intense practices that happened in weeks before that.
“I really love our practices,” Calligan said. “Practicing with the team is so hilarious.”
Shorts get pulled, girls get tripped, and the ball often doesn’t get caught, but the girls continue to try. Even though it’s hard work and sometimes discouraging, the teams believe more girls should join next year.
“I would definitely tell somebody else to do it,” Calligan said. “If we get a bunch of people we have a better chance of the team going somewhere.”
Eight games are played by each team, including semifinals. No matter how good or bad players did during the season, everyone competes that night.
“My goals for semifinals are to not just win, but perfect our plays,” said Sarah Goodfellow, quarterback for the Maroon team. “Catching more balls and perfecting passes are big goals.”
Even though the girls have yet to win a game, they improve with every game. Not only do the coaches see huge improvements since the beginning of the season, but the refs have commented on the girl’s improvement.
“You can’t just give up because you’re losing,” Calligan said. “The fact that everyone committed to the team at the beginning of the season is what keeps me going.”
