For the first time in Perry’s history, a girls flag football team has been formed. Coached by teacher Heather Johnson and assisted by teacher Stacey Etherington, this team gives girls a chance to play flag football, rather than being thrown into tackle, a full contact sport which includes an overwhelming and intense amount of contact. “I always wanted to play football, but I was terrified as a freshman especially to go play tackle football with the guys,” said senior Anna Kaup.

This is the first year that CUSD is introducing the flag football team, so right now it is only a club. Nonetheless, when more girls become interested in participating, hopefully once it gets publicized then it will become sanctioned in AIA sport,” said Johnson.

Considering this is the team’s first year, there are still learning curves that the team is working to overcome, such as a shortness of players. “We have about five to ten girls depending on the day, because all these girls are athletes that participate in other sports. So since the season hasn’t started, they’re being pulled into a different direction,” said Johnson.

However, it seems that this problem has been solved. Even though attendance may be low at practice, Johnson reported that by the time the season starts, they should “have a solid group of about 13 [players] and we’re looking good.”

Even with the challenges that any new team faces, the team working towards for success.“I think we have a good work ethic and we’ve been practicing really hard,” said Kaup. Though, other teams also have the disadvantage of it being the first season, so the playing ground is even. This means that in order to finish on top, all teams must work hard.

Right now, the team is conditioning to prepare for upcoming games. “We’re in preseason right now and we practice twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school,” said freshman Kate Farley. These practices focus partly on familiarizing the players with the plays in the game. “We run quarterback drills for throwing, pass routes so the girls know the difference between an in versus an outpost versus corner,” said Johnson.

Johnson also estimates that when the season begins there will be approximately ten games. Until then, the team is continuing to finalize and assemble their plays and strategies in addition to building strong bonds. These bonds are vital to build chemistry and play fluently. As Kaup states, “we’re basically a family already.” Season officially starts Feb. 14 and games begin the first week of March.