This story is part three of a series on the growth of girls flag football in Iowa. Each week during the season, we will feature a story that helps explain the importance of flag football – one of the fastest growing youth sports in the country – to girls in the Des Moines area and beyond.
Marlee Rivas spins over her right shoulder, takes a few steps to the side and unleashes a tight spiraling pass downfield into the waiting hands of her teammate.
She allows a slight smile to creep across her face before refocusing for the next play, but her teammates aren’t letting her talents go unnoticed.
“Ooo, period girl,” shouts one of her Lincoln flag football teammates. “I just love the way she throws.”
That elicits another smile from Rivas, who jokes around with the players who have become like another set of sisters. At Lincoln, the girls flag football team feels like a family.
And for some players and coaches, it really is.
Gary and Cassidy Dickey returned to the sport in Lincoln’s first season
Gary Dickey remembers how his daughter, Cassidy, first got involved in flag football.
He asked his daughter – when she was in third grade – if she wanted to try out flag football and, even though she agreed, there had been some miscommunication. Her mother competed on the drill team in high school, so Cassidy assumed that ‘flag football’ meant she’d be following in her mother’s footsteps.
“We signed her up, and I told her, ‘Hey, let’s start watching some football to get ready for the season,’” Dickey chuckled. “And that’s when she started to tear up, because she thought she would be twirling flags.”
With her father and grandfather volunteering to coach, Cassidy’s tune on flag football soon changed. She fell in love with the sport, despite often being the only girl on the field. She played all the way through seventh grade, but then the opportunities for girls in football evaporated.
She pursued basketball in high school, and she earned a spot in the varsity lineup during all four years of her career. When her final season ended, though, there was a void. And then the Des Moines Public Schools announced that it would be spearheading a girls flag football league.
Immediately, Cassidy jumped on the opportunity.
Her father signed on as a volunteer head coach, and the pair spent the abbreviated seven-week season returning to the sport they’d shared when Cassidy was a kid.
“For me, it was magical to watch her play flag football again,” Dickey said. “It was such a magical season last year, so much so when they announced they were doing it again, I immediately reached out to volunteer.”
Dickey returned to the sidelines this season, without Cassidy on the team. Her journey in flag football isn’t over, though, with Cassidy competing in intramural flag football at the University of Iowa.
And at Lincoln, the sport is still all about family.
Jeremy and Marlee Rivas carry on the father-daughter tradition
Jeremy Rivas has coached his three children for the better part of 30 years.
Baseball, football, softball – he’s coached almost every sport that his children played. His youngest daughter, Marlee, grew up tossing a football in the backyard with her siblings, but organized football never seemed like an option.
Last season, though, Rivas’ elementary school friend, Gary Dickey, volunteered to coach Lincoln’s program, and Rivas – whose daughter goes to Carlisle – wanted to be a part of the program. It gave the father-daughter duo another chance to spend time together in sports.
“It’s time that we get together, so it’s fun,” Rivas said. “Carlisle doesn’t have a team, and they share a lot of smaller sports with Lincoln. Last year was all new, but all the girls here have welcomed the girls (who don’t go to Lincoln).
“It’s not even a big deal for them, and they all bonded pretty well in the short amount of time that we have. And that’s been great to see.”
That camaraderie is on full display during a Wednesday night practice.
It’s 74 degrees, the sun is partially hidden behind clusters of clouds, and the vibes are high. Rivas’ voice barely reaches over the sound of a John Deere reworking the dirt on the adjacent baseball diamond.
But the sound that does break through is laughter, and a lot of it.
The 10 girls who are out at practice fill the gaps between drills with inside jokes, words of encouragement, and the occasional dance move. And when it comes time to practice, they lock back in.
These girls are a part of something special – a growing sport – at Lincoln, and they are loving every second of it.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Girls flag football is a family affair at Des Moines Lincoln
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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