Over the past decade, there has been a significant surge in the popularity of flag football among female athletes. On Friday, September 12 the NDB Flag Football team had their first scrimmage against Carlmont HS. For many girls, this was their first time ever playing in a game since this is the first year that both schools have had a flag football program.
To prepare for the scrimmage and future games, the team practiced all together five days a week, working on communication, knowing their receivers and overall teamwork. NDB Head Coach Ronald Douglas and Carlmont Head Coach Oscar Cortez refereed this match, allowing for a more casual gameplay. The score was not officially recorded due to the scrimmage being informal, but Carlmont HS definitely had the upper hand.
“I think we need to work on avoiding a blitz next time,” said sophomore Sofia Castricone, one of the team’s quarterbacks. “Working full speed and focusing during practice will definitely get us there and I think we got our next game.”
On Thursday, September 14, the Tigers played their first league game versus Sacred Heart Cathedral at Westmoor HS. With a scrimmage under their belt, NDB played well, communicating with each other and attempting to score. However, it took a lot of work to keep up with a team that has been practicing together since last spring. NDB took a hard loss at 0-26.
“I mean, at this point, we’re just trying to learn football right?” said Douglas. “We’re just trying to learn our positions, our routes and anything we can do to prevent the opponent from scoring.”
When learning a new sport, it can be difficult to catch on to the rules, not to mention specific plays or strategies. Luckily, NDB has plenty more opportunities to improve their knowledge of the game as well as strategic approaches to flag football.
The Tigers had back-to-back games scheduled for Wednesday, September 20 against Notre Dame San Jose and Sacred Heart Prep, but due to poor air quality, these games were rescheduled for later in the season. Their next games will not be until Wednesday, October 4 against King’s Academy and Sacred Heart Prep. Hopefully, this will allow NDB to have more practice time together and work on strategies.
“For us it’s just about trying to make some improvement at this point,” said Douglas, after the game was postponed. “It would be great to make some touchdowns. We haven’t had any touchdowns yet this season. So, just getting closer to scoring and, hopefully, our defense giving up fewer points, too.”
Practicing offensive strategies that exploit defensive weaknesses might make this feat more achievable, including quick passes, misdirection plays or utilizing the entire field to stretch the defense.
Having students at NDB participate in this sport allows the community to have their own football team to root for. NDB has long supported Serra HS in their football endeavors. However, with the emergence of our own team, we anticipate a promising future for the program.
