By Ashley Ferraro
Registration is now open for Parkland Flag Football for the 2023 season! The season will officially begin with evaluations on August 20th, but interested players should register as soon as possible. Due to the rapid growth and overwhelming interest in Parkland Flag, the league has placed a cap on registration for the forthcoming season.
Following player evaluations is a draft, in which players are assigned to teams and then participate in two weeks of practice. After that, it’s game time! Teams typically play once or twice per week during the regular season, followed by double-elimination playoff games. Finally, everyone involved looks forward to the Super Bowl games to close out the season, which is accompanied by food trucks, carnival games, and more fun for the entire family.
Children and parents alike are encouraged to get involved with Parkland Flag. The league is always seeking out coaches to join the program and is prepared to fully support new coaches so they feel ready to set their young players up for a season of success. “I coached my son and my daughter. It’s always extremely rewarding,” says Todd Link, Parkland Flag’s president.
It’s safe to say Parkland Flag has sparked a cultural shift in the community and has grown tremendously since its inception. Most notably, flag football has exploded in popularity amongst young girls. Parkland Flag recently introduced a brand new division to the program, Girls High School.
Previously, girls participated in the sport through CoEd teams. To accommodate the growing interest in flag football, the program has introduced more girls’ divisions. It’s not just Parkland Flag seeing more girls interested in flag football. The sport is blowing up nationwide; it’s now a college scholarship sport for girls and is being promoted by the NFL. Flag football for men and women is even being considered for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Parkland Flag is a non-contact league. “I think that the other reason that flag is growing is because the safety that you get while playing flag is different,” adds Todd. “You still get football, the product that everybody loves, but you’re getting it in a much safer format that doesn’t include all the hits and the blocks and the concussions in football.”
Todd has more than three decades of flag football experience under his belt, including playing and coaching, in addition to leading and developing in other capacities. Todd has been on the Parkland Flag Football board of directors for four years and is thrilled to enter his first season as the program’s president.
Parkland Flag Football is open to Parkland residents as well as non-residents. Todd urges interested players and families to register as soon as possible. Once registration has reached its maximum capacity, the league will compile a waitlist for kids who would still like the opportunity to play.
For more information or to register your child for the 2023 season, visit www.parklandflag.com or email parklandflagfootball@gmail.com.
