As the whistle blows, the young teammates quickly huddle together and begin discussing their next play. This is how Friday Night Lights is for all of the players in the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Flag Football league. This league is located in Chino with several different divisions on grade and team gender, ranging from all boys, co-ed, and all girls. Many of the youth in MVP begin to develop their skills to eventually prepare to play the sport at their future high school. Specifically, girls in the seventh through eighth grade division are going to make their way into Ayala’s own flag football program next year.
For several of the girls, there is a variety of practices that they are doing in order to better prepare themselves for their transition from recreational flag football to a high school level team. This could range from partaking in other activities, working on skills outside of practice, and making it to practices on time. It varies for each different player yet still helps them to become a better athlete over time.
“Some of the things I do to prepare are attending my regular team practices and working on our drills,” player Abby Martin (8) said. “I also play other sports so the speed, agility, and conditioning is something I always work on regularly to help.”
Through all of the work these outstanding girls do, they begin to prepare themselves to come to Ayala. However, there has been more that has led up to these girls getting to this point.
“My sister got me into flag football when Ayala first started a flag football team,” player Harper Mendoza (8) said. “She taught me the routes and the rules of the game and she also inspired me to start playing the game as well.”
The sport of flag football has become relatively new to Ayala as the team was only formed a couple of years ago, but, through its popularity, it has gained a large amount of followers. While the process to get into Ayala’s team could be daunting, the coaches are really looking for one thing, coachability. This is a big factor because if a player is not teachable, it is difficult for them to be in a team sport that requires constant feedback and teamwork.
“We’re looking for someone who’s willing to take what we’re saying and put it into play,” Ayala Varsity flag football Coach Amy Campbell said. “We also look for attitude. Attitude’s huge [because] culture is big with our program, and having a positive mindset and things like that.”
As the sport continues to grow, there will be even more that the coaches at Ayala have learned to look for. Support for Ayala’s flagfootball program is greatly appreciated as their next game for both Junior Varisty (JV) and Varsity is on October 7 for Canyon Hills Night. All Canyon Hills students are welcome to the game to support and have free admission with a student ID and an adult.
