Flag Football Season

I debated for months what to do with the boys regarding flag football this year. We had a great experience in Boise last year coaching with my brothers and playing in the "Optimist" football league. It was well run and well organized. Neither my brothers nor Marc could commit to being able to coach this year. I didn't really want to fork over the money to play Optimist, not to mention the time and gas it would take to travel to Boise 3 times a week for practices and games. The boys weren't begging to play, but I wanted them to do something. I waited until the last minute and ended up signing them up for flag football through the City of Caldwell. It was much, much cheaper, but in the end I think "you get what you pay for." 

We missed the first two (of the five) games due to Marc's marathon and the Family 5K. But we made sure we were at every practice. I was happy to see that our kids weren't the worst ones on the field this year. They came in with a little bit of experience under their belt, and even though they still can't throw or catch a football, not many of the other kids could either. There was a ton of kids on the team, 14 or 15 I think! In addition to our twins, there was a set of triplets on the team as well! The coach came to practice organized. He had a fair balance of discipline and fun. As the season progressed, I started to notice in practices that only the "star" players on the team were getting the chance to touch the ball. There was one practice in particular where they did the same thing for about 40 minutes. The rest of the team was blocking, only a few kids were throwing/catching/running, over and over again. My boys started to get bored, and then started to mess around which in turn, got them in trouble and they had to run laps. And it happened again, and again. I started to get frustrated and upset. These are 7,8 and 9 year olds. Many are learning these skills for the first time. Each and every one of them should have a fair chance to learn the different positions. In no wise are they position specified yet, nor should they be until they are quite a bit older! I couldn't tell if the coach was so driven to win, he just didn't want to bother with the other kids, or it was just easier to coach the ones he knew could handle the ball. I went off on him after that practice. I asked if this was going to be the way things were going to be for the rest of the season. I said the kids are bored. I believe they should each get turns being able to run with the ball during practice and that I was voicing my concerns. I don't know if my method of speaking up was the greatest, but I refuse to sit and feel frustrated and bottle up all my emotions wishing things would be better. I am happy to say, that practices did get a little better from there on out. 

Marc was able to come a couple of times and help work one on one with the kids. He taught Tyler how to play defense, and the kid turned into a defensive animal! He couldn't be stopped on the line and was a huge threat to the other teams quarter backs and running backs. He tells us that he "loves defense!" he's excited to play again next year. Which is awesome. I'm glad that he found something he enjoys, but if nobody had never spent the time working with him a little bit, he wouldn't have ever been able to figure out that he actually liked playing defensive lineman. Bryce got to run the ball a few times for the extra point after touch down. He and Tyler both scored one point for their team. Our team dominated every other team they played. The boys had a good time. They both want to play again next year. Next year, they are eligible for tackle football. We're not sure if we're going to make the transition over or stick with one more year of flag. Glad that we have some time to decide :)

These pictures aren't the best, but at least I recorded something :) It was a rainy, dreary day.