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| NEWS!!! |
Salem News Article!!! 11/27/04
Flag Football on the rise in Peabody.
Flag football took off this year in Peabody. The NFL
nationally organized youth program was started locally by
Austin Bradshaw and took off rapidly. It grew from 32
youngsters on four teams last spring to 167 boys and
girls on 18 teams for the fall games that were played om
Saturday mornings at Emerson park. "I played flag
football in England for the national team, and it was very
popular over there. Of course football isn't nearly as
popular there as it is here. In England you are not
allowed to play kitted football until you are 18, and i
didn't know about flag football when i was younger".
Bradshaw, who came to the United States a year ago and
settled in Peabody where he is a substitute teacher at
the Higgins Middle school, fell in love with the game and
played for the University of Derby as well as flag football
at the highest level for five years.
He Supervised the entire program along with his wifes
help, which just wrapped up the fall schedule with
championship games and trophies last weekend, with the
help of volunteer coaches and both high school students
as well as a couple of friends serving as referees. There
were six teams in the 6-8 age group, eight in the 9-11,
and four in the older 12-14 bracket.
"Everybody had a great time, and i made sure from day
one that all the coaches knew the concept was to get
everyone involved" said the 28 year old Austin. "there
are 10 players on a team, everybody gets to play. The kids
enjoyed themselves, and coaches and parents had a good
time, too. Its a very well run program. "Its really a great
game and i still play on Sunday mornings. When i first
came over from England i played in the Boston Metro flag
football league. I'm going to take three teams, the
champions in each age group, to a tournament in
Wakefield. There will be teams from Londonderry and
Manchester New Hampshire as well as a team from PA. Its
a reward for the winners, and should offer excellent
competition."
In February Bradshaw will hold sign-ups both on-line and
by passing out sign-up sheets in schools around
Peabody. The planning is already underway, and he is
trying to work something out with Dick Walker of the
Parks and Rec department because fields are so scarce
in the spring.
"When we first started i ran the program at the Higgins
Middle school on Wednesday afternoons for two hours,
but we only had four teams then" said Bradshaw. "Now
its grown so rapidly we'll need more space and time. Its
going to be difficult with all the other spring sports vying
for space."
There were 18 Girls involved this fall, including three on
the championship 12-14 team. Because it is flag and not
contact, the girls have no trouble competing with the
boys.
We'd like to have more girls involved, and maybe they
can interest some friends to give it a try" said Bradshaw
"in the game of flag a whole lot of different skills come
into play, and quickness is certainly one of them".
"I e-mailed the Patriots to see if they could hold a
qualifying tournament for the Nationals around here next
year because the closest qualifier at the moment is New
York. The team that wins the regional qualifier can send
10 players and one coach on an all expenses paid trip to
Florida for the Nationals. That sounds like a lot of fun ,
and something we'd be interested in having the
opportunity to try and qualify".
Flag Football on the rise in Peabody.
Flag football took off this year in Peabody. The NFL
nationally organized youth program was started locally by
Austin Bradshaw and took off rapidly. It grew from 32
youngsters on four teams last spring to 167 boys and
girls on 18 teams for the fall games that were played om
Saturday mornings at Emerson park. "I played flag
football in England for the national team, and it was very
popular over there. Of course football isn't nearly as
popular there as it is here. In England you are not
allowed to play kitted football until you are 18, and i
didn't know about flag football when i was younger".
Bradshaw, who came to the United States a year ago and
settled in Peabody where he is a substitute teacher at
the Higgins Middle school, fell in love with the game and
played for the University of Derby as well as flag football
at the highest level for five years.
He Supervised the entire program along with his wifes
help, which just wrapped up the fall schedule with
championship games and trophies last weekend, with the
help of volunteer coaches and both high school students
as well as a couple of friends serving as referees. There
were six teams in the 6-8 age group, eight in the 9-11,
and four in the older 12-14 bracket.
"Everybody had a great time, and i made sure from day
one that all the coaches knew the concept was to get
everyone involved" said the 28 year old Austin. "there
are 10 players on a team, everybody gets to play. The kids
enjoyed themselves, and coaches and parents had a good
time, too. Its a very well run program. "Its really a great
game and i still play on Sunday mornings. When i first
came over from England i played in the Boston Metro flag
football league. I'm going to take three teams, the
champions in each age group, to a tournament in
Wakefield. There will be teams from Londonderry and
Manchester New Hampshire as well as a team from PA. Its
a reward for the winners, and should offer excellent
competition."
In February Bradshaw will hold sign-ups both on-line and
by passing out sign-up sheets in schools around
Peabody. The planning is already underway, and he is
trying to work something out with Dick Walker of the
Parks and Rec department because fields are so scarce
in the spring.
"When we first started i ran the program at the Higgins
Middle school on Wednesday afternoons for two hours,
but we only had four teams then" said Bradshaw. "Now
its grown so rapidly we'll need more space and time. Its
going to be difficult with all the other spring sports vying
for space."
There were 18 Girls involved this fall, including three on
the championship 12-14 team. Because it is flag and not
contact, the girls have no trouble competing with the
boys.
We'd like to have more girls involved, and maybe they
can interest some friends to give it a try" said Bradshaw
"in the game of flag a whole lot of different skills come
into play, and quickness is certainly one of them".
"I e-mailed the Patriots to see if they could hold a
qualifying tournament for the Nationals around here next
year because the closest qualifier at the moment is New
York. The team that wins the regional qualifier can send
10 players and one coach on an all expenses paid trip to
Florida for the Nationals. That sounds like a lot of fun ,
and something we'd be interested in having the
opportunity to try and qualify".
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