This story is the final part 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.
There is a buzz at Mediacom Stadium on Drake University’s campus, even on a Sunday afternoon without any collegiate sporting events on the schedule.
It’s the final week of the season for the Des Moines Public Schools girls flag football league, which features middle school and high school teams from the metro, as well as Ames and Dowling.
Athletes begin arriving at the stadium about an hour before the first games of the day. It’s sunny and 70 degrees, and dozens of girls change into short-sleeve jerseys in a myriad of colors: white with red numbers, black with red numbers, red with white numbers, navy with gray numbers, green with yellow numbers, pink with green numbers.
One player – in a Southeast Polk softball uniform – runs down the steps of the bleachers a couple of minutes before the start of the game, mouthguard between her teeth and black stripes smeared underneath her eyes.
Parents and grandparents, siblings and friends get comfortable in the stands – putting blankets down on the metal seats and opening umbrellas for some shade.
And then the organized chaos begins, with three games going on at once. The small but mighty crowd, though, is locked in on all the action.
“It’s great seeing the crowds, seeing the parents come here,” said Damian Baccam, who is in his first season coaching the Hoyt Middle School team. “Week 1, (these girls) didn’t know much about football. Then they started understanding the game and… they just love it.
“The girls get excited on both offense and defense, and they get excited for each other. We’re trying to make this a more competitive league, so hopefully it grows a lot more.”
The athletes aren’t the only ones who get into the game.
On the sidelines for both of Harding Middle School’s squads stands Trevor Hixon, whose booming voice carries across the field. He seems like a natural coach, and he’s been a part of staffs for football, soccer, weightlifting and wrestling.
So, it makes sense that he would raise his hand to coach girls flag football.
And if his team’s track record is any indication, Hixon understands the game and knows how to turn athletes who have never played flag football into winners.
“I started this when (the Des Moines Public Schools) first introduced it, and Harding Middle School won the whole thing for middle school,” Hixon shared. “It’s awesome to see that girls who might not do soccer or track or volleyball can find love in playing football.”
Football – and coaching football – is nothing new to Hixon, but being on the girls’ side of the game is a bit different. The biggest contrast, he joked, is that the girls do a better job of listening and taking his coaching.
But despite his team’s on-field success and his dedication to growing the game, Hixon is most proud of the type of people his players become through flag football.
“They work hard, they’re building relationships, and they’re learning how to win and have success,” Hixon said. “And then they can take that to high school, or a job, or going to college. They’re learning all these life skills, and it’s really rewarding when I get to do that with sports.”
His hope for the sport is that it continues to grow.
The Harding head coach recalled how few middle school teams there were when he first signed on, and how much hope it gives him with how many more teams have popped up – and how the level of competition went up – in just a couple of years.
He understands that his team can only grow if they play more competitive teams, although, for now, Hixon is proud that his team will head into the final week of the season with an undefeated record.
While Harding’s top team collected its fourth win of the regular season, the Hiatt and Meredith middle school teams were locked in a tense back-and-forth. Both teams were finding ways to get downfield but struggling to make it into the end zone.
That is, until Hiatt’s quarterback found Daliyah Johnson on the edge of the goal line.
She took a few additional steps into the end zone before it sank in: Johnson scored to put her team ahead and did so as time was running out. She made a motion to spike the ball, but stopped herself, and her teammates – both the ones who were on the field and those watching from the sideline – swarmed her in celebration.
The back slaps and high fives and smiles continued, even after Hiatt flipped to defense.
And the excitement extended through the end of the game, when Kakoki Riziki stopped Meredith’s final attempt to tie the game. It’s the team’s second win of the year, but even with the abbreviated, four-game regular season, those moments of victory felt far apart.
The players lined up to exchange handshakes, and Hiatt’s athletes cartwheeled their way into the postgame huddle. Those celebratory smiles remained even after those girls exited the stadium.
“We played most of the game, neither team scores, and that one connection is all we needed,” said Marilyn Buss, who coaches Hiatt’s girls flag football team. “It was really cool to experience that. For girls that like football and want to play football, it’s a great opportunity to play together.
“It’s not just one or two (girls) on a team full of boys. This is their own thing, and they love it.”
It’s easy to think that this sport doesn’t matter as much because it isn’t sanctioned, because it’s just a group of girls having fun, because it’s not tackle football. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
These girls get just as frustrated with a missed call. These girls get just as disappointed when a play goes awry. These girls get just as excited when they come out on top.
And these girls – from the youngest middle school students to the seniors in high school – are a part of something special, something that is just getting started.
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: Middle school teams helping grow girls flag football in Des Moines
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
