Team Insight

TEAM: FOOTBALL that follows in the footsteps of all our other sports programs — one that chases academic excellence and championships." is momentum all began back to 2020, when 15 NAIA schools declared their intent to create a varsity women's collegiate flag football team. Each school was then granted a $15,000 stipend from the NFL to aid in the on-boarding process of the sport. Adding to the momentum was the decision by the NFL to make some transformational changes to its Pro Bowl, beginning next year (2023) in Las Vegas. Chief among them was instead of the traditional tackle game, the Pro Bowl week will now serve as a week-long celebration of player skills featuring a new format that spotlights flag football. e multi-day AFC versus NFC competition will culminate in a flag football game featuring Pro Bowl players at Allegiant Stadium,. Seeing this investment by none other than the NFL, Carey's Sporting Goods was quick to jump on the flag football bandwagon. "Flag football with youth is picking up here in Texas," says owner Dan Carey, who is a firm believer in introducing youngsters to football with flag football even if the sales are a bit less than for tackle. e reason: Flag football keeps more young players involved instead of dropping out of tackle football because of safety concerns.. "Many youngsters have no business playing tackle football. ey are too small," says Carey, who truly believes youth tackle football should fade away. "With flag football, that may well be the direction that we should be headed because there are less injuries, it's a sport where the big kids don't have a physical advantage and they get to focus on having fun. I watch them play- ing flag football and they are having a blast." 3RD QUARTER CHALLENGE Declining Participation ere are pockets of the U.S. where partici- pation in football remains as strong as ever and then there are places where it's experiencing a decline in participation. Many outside factors combine in this mixed bag. For the first time in many years, youngsters in Holyoke, MA, are not playing tackle football in a local league and instead are playing flag football. is recent development was not what was expected as recently as a few months ago. According to Betsy Frey, owner of Holyoke Sporting Goods, the last-minute change from tackle football to flag football was because Holyoke could not field enough youth tackle football teams for all the age groups in the locally organized Suburban Amateur Football League (SAFL) of Western Massachusetts. The verdict of no tackle football for children in Holyoke was a shock to the local football faithful. "is is the first time in years that our chil- dren are not playing tackle football in the fall," says Frey. Unfortunately, the decision to cancel tackle football did hurt Frey's bottom line. "Every year, I sell each football player a purple jersey, black pants with padding, cleats, a mouthpiece and an athletic supporter with a cup," says Frey, but that happened a lot less this season. "Football is definitely on the decline in western Massachusetts." Starting in mid-October local kids were playing in a new fall flag football program and fall baseball also has record attendance, Frey reports. "I have sold a number of flag football belts for the eight teams in the fall league." Ironically, while the flag football and base- ball players still purchase cleats from Frey, the demand has exceeded supply. "I've had a tough time getting cleats," she says. "ey might have to play in sneakers this fall." In another section of the country, partic- ipation in football at all levels is increasing in parts of Illinois, based on feedback from Pat Shanahan, sales rep at Eich's Sports in Lemont, IL. "Our football business was strong this fall and everybody is reporting bigger numbers," says Shanahan, who sells lots of uniforms, footballs, equipment, tape and wrap. Supply chain delays were not an issue with apparel orders, he reports. In the football hotbed of Florida, for 30 years children ages five to 15 have been playing tackle football in the villages like Wellington, FL, mostly under the banner of the Western Communities Football League (WCFL). e playing fields at the local Village Park are some of the finest in the state and the quality of coaches has been strong, too, yet in recent years the participation numbers for the WCFL have been up and down. Looking back, the timing on the start of the WCFL was ideal. "e WCFL was founded in 1992 and started as a tackle-only league," explains WCFL presi- dent Marc Basis. "At the time, the demand for youth tackle football was high and there were 19 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2022 teaminsightmag.com ® ® A Better Way To Play 440-349-3500 www.ProNine.com

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