This fall season, Grayslake North kicked off the year with flag football, a sport that has never been offered here before.
Flag football is a no-contact sport, so instead of tackling, the objective is to capture each other’s flags. Girls flag football is sweeping the nation, and is even being endorsed by the NFL. The Chicago Bears are the reason the program was able to get started.
“I’m going to give props to the Chicago Bears. They actually gave grants to high schools who wanted to get in the flag football program, so they started this initiative,” said flag football coach Ashley Kopecky.
Coaches Ashley Kopecky and Brian Frericks have been very supportive as North’s first ever flag football coaches. The team practices on the back 40, which the tackle football team generously shares three times a week. Although the team has players as well as coaches, it’s not recognized as a sport yet. As of right now, flag football is considered a club, and the long term goal is to hopefully get approved to be recognized as an official sport. The girls on the team this year have been working hard to leave behind a legacy and hopefully encourage more girls to join.
“All of our athletes have done an amazing job so far, but some of our outstanding players deserve recognition for their positive attitudes and their leadership initiative. Those students are Miley Adkins, Sara Robledo Carrasco and Victoria Marquez. Our team doesn’t have captains, but these three step up consistently and take on the leadership role if necessary,” Frericks said.
The team has had a bit of a struggle this season, with it being the first ever. Not everyone on the team is at the same skill level nor do they have the same knowledge about football, so it’s hard to coach everyone at the same level.
“They are doing something that has never been done in Grayslake North history before. That’s the legacy they are leaving behind,” Kopecky said.
These girls will go down in North’s history for starting something that empowers female athletes.
