Fielding not only a Varsity squad but a JV team as well, girls flag football has provided female athletes not only a new sport to try but also skills to carry over into other areas of their lives.
Initially, senior captain Kamsi Anthony says she started flag football as a way to get fit before track season. Now she realizes it provides a sense of friendship alongside the hard work.
“[Flag football] has been really fun. I initially did it as a fun little hobby to get ready for track. But it actually is a lot of hard work and I like it,” Anthony said. “I think it’s a great use of time and I like meeting all the new people I met through like football.”
Despite starting out not knowing much about football, Anthony has improved her game and leadership over time.
“I think I’ve grown as a player a lot because I knew nothing about football before signing up for it,” Anthony said. “It’s also helped me grow as a leader because being captain for it puts me in a position where I have to actually care about other people than myself and make sure that everyone felt included.”
Going with the flow is a crucial part of the game. Anthony believes it’s important to make sure she’s doing what she needs to, as well as her team.
“The harder aspects are during games when we don’t have coaches telling us necessarily what to do, it’s not instructions you have to follow. You have to read what’s going on with the other team and know how to act accordingly as a response,” Anthony said. “I think that’s the hardest part because not only do you have to make sure that you know what you’re supposed to be doing…You have to be sure everyone else on defense we also know that they’re supposed to be doing.”
Although laughing and talking with friends during practice is fun, sometimes practice should be taken seriously to see improvement.
“I think coming to practice and putting in all your effort is important,” Anthony said. “I believe that you can do [flag football] and laugh and have fun and talk to your friends. But I think it is important that when it comes down to it, you’re running your hardest, you’re doing the drills to the fullest and you’re putting in an effort because that’s the only way you’re gonna see improvement in anything.”
Part of being a varsity captain is making sure everyone can perform to the best of their ability.
“Specifically for me, [I want to improve] the way I help our team improve during the warmups. I try to make sure everyone’s doing as much as they can and working to improve,” Anthony said. “I think I’m also just making sure everyone gets moved up to varsity and feels bonded and included on the team.”
Anthony believes a strong leader doesn’t just tell others what to do but helps them while they do it.
“I think the most important part about being captain is creating a bond with everyone on your team. If you have favorites or are close to one specific person then you’re not going to be able to create the well-rounded dynamic that everybody wants in a team,” Anthony said.
Beating Bellarmine improved the team’s overall confidence, partly due to the team’s great teamwork.
“My proudest moment on the team so far probably was beating Bellarmine. I feel like we worked really well together and that was one of the best games we played,” Anthony said.
Senior Kiersten Sacksteder talks about her experience working as a captain for the varsity team.
“It’s been one of the best experiences of my high school career, I’ve made so many friendships. I’ve always loved football so it’s been a dream of mine to play football at school,” Sacksteder said.
Sacksteder believes keeping the team engaged and ready can vastly improve the play of the team.
“My role as a captain is making sure that I am being a leader by how I act and making sure that I keep my team always hyped up. People looking up to you and just making sure that you’re being a good leader,” Sacksteder said.
One of the harder aspects at first for Sacksteder was learning the plays as a team.
“Learning all the new plays and new defensive positions [was difficult]. I’ve never really done that before, so it was pretty difficult,” Sacksteder said.
Making sure that everybody practices hard is one of the key roles of the captain, according to Sacksteder.
“I believe that how you practice is how you play. So, if you don’t give your full effort at practice, you aren’t going to play to your full potential during the actual game,” Sacksteder said.
As quarterback for the team, Sacksteder has to understand how the other team plays in order to make the perfect pass.
“I think I’ve become more accurate as a thrower and more understanding of how the defenses play against us,” Sacksteder said.
Trying out new positions on offense and defense can help players realize where they fit best.
“My goal is eventually to play on defense. I really want to and my coaches won’t let me. [I also hope] to go undefeated for the rest of the season,” Sacksteder said.
Win or lose, the spirit of the Vikings is to fight on no matter the circumstances.
“Even if we’re down in the game, the fact that we keep going and we don’t give up even though we’re losing. We still try to score points,” Sacksteder said.
