{"id":22930,"date":"2023-10-06T03:50:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T07:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=22930"},"modified":"2023-10-06T03:50:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T07:50:35","slug":"a-team-of-their-own-brick-girls-want-flag-football-added-to-high-school-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2023\/10\/a-team-of-their-own-brick-girls-want-flag-football-added-to-high-school-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"A Team of Their Own: Brick Girls Want Flag Football Added to High School Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script id=\"b91bff4329284aa68185b82c3a696527\">(new Image()).src = 'https:\/\/capi.connatix.com\/tr\/si?token=e6ca17a0-9f6c-402e-8f17-7db2585f0eb0&cid=209cb62d-f20d-41b1-885d-a317d66dc464';  cnx.cmd.push(function() {    cnx({      playerId: \"e6ca17a0-9f6c-402e-8f17-7db2585f0eb0\",      mediaId: \"be77720e-3ca8-4da9-88c9-e7579760f9cc\"    }).render(\"b91bff4329284aa68185b82c3a696527\");  });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Flag football has been growing in popularity across the world in recent years, and has carved itself a particular zone of heightened competition in the northeast.<\/p>\n<p>With teams and leagues springing up in New Jersey and elsewhere, a group of Brick Township girls in middle school are hoping to form a team that would represent their town by the time they reach high school \u2013 and it looks like they may be successful.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22934\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1556-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22934\" class=\"size-large wp-image-22934\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1556-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"The football field at Brick Township High School, Oct. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1556-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1556-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1556-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1556-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1556-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-22934\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The football field at Brick Township High School, Oct. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Ella Terry, an eighth grader, addressed the township\u2019s Board of Education at its meeting last week to pitch an idea for a combined team at Brick\u2019s two high schools that would create a formidable lineup. She currently plays on both all-girls and co-ed travel teams and club teams, and has won awards for her performance, including becoming the first female athlete in her league to win Defensive Player of the Year. In flag football, downs are made by grabbing a flag attached to the uniform of an opposing player rather than tackling the opponent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started playing flag football when I was seven years old,\u201d said Terry. \u201cI have always enjoyed it more than any other sport I played. It is not the hardest sport physically, but I will admit you have to be mentally tough, especially as a female, to play a sport like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ella said she was faced doubts from some, and was made fun of by others for wanting to play football as a young woman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s just say I proved them wrong by showing them what I can do,\u201d she said. \u201cFast forward a few years later, and I\u2019m a member of an all-girls travel football team because of a coach who changed my perspective on playing this sport.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Natalie Iosi, who is currently eight-years-old, said she wants to follow in the footsteps of fellow Brick native <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsasports.org\/womens-flag-football-recruiting\/new-jersey\/brick\/brick-township-memorial-high-school\/kylee-caetano3\">KyLee Caetano<\/a>, one of her volunteer coaches who became a two-time national flag football champion who was the first female to receive a college scholarship for football in New Jersey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of my coaches, KyLee, who went to Brick Memorial even plays in college now,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are so many girls who play Flag, and it has helped me to be strong and confident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Janet Terry, Ella\u2019s mother, said her daughter\u2019s quest to add flag football to Brick\u2019s official team sports lineup has transformed her once-introverted student-athlete to become an advocate for her sport, meeting with school officials and putting together a petition and making her pitch to students and administrators alike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an important time for the sport, and we\u2019d love the opportunity for our students to earn scholarship money,\u201d said Terry. \u201cWe travel to New York, Pennsylvania, and as far as Florida and Las Vegas. It\u2019s a big expense, and we think the students should have the opportunity to play in their own backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22933\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1555-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22933\" class=\"size-large wp-image-22933\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1555-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"The football field at Brick Township High School, Oct. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1555-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1555-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1555-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1555-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1555-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-22933\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The football field at Brick Township High School, Oct. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A 12-and-under flag football team consisting mostly of Brick residents won a divisional title last year, literally competing with teams from around the world in a tournament.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are 14 towns in the Shore Conference that have added flag football to their schools, and we know we can compete with them,\u201d Terry said.<\/p>\n<p>Superintendent Thomas Farrell said is 100 percent behind the efforts to bring flag football to Brick \u2013 and to have it recognized as a sport equal to traditional football instead of a club sport. The calls to add flag football to the official sports offerings regulated by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association comes as some collegiate conferences, including the NEC (Northeast Conference), have begun adding flag football teams as a Division III sport under their banner.<\/p>\n<p>While the focus in flag football is often on female athletes being given a chance to compete on the field, co-ed teams also allow male students a chance to play a non-tackle variant of the sport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy brother\u2019s teammate and friend has a condition that makes him unable to play tackle football,\u201d said Ella Terry. \u201cPlaying football in high school, even if it\u2019s not tackle, would brighten up his last few years in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe word is that it\u2019s going to become a sanctioned sport over the next few years rather than a club,\u201d said Farrell, who said he helped bring flag football to his previous school district in Monmouth County. \u201d It is our plan to bring it here, it just didn\u2019t fit into this year\u2019s budget because of budget cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brick schools faced massive state funding cuts for the 2023-24 school year which could have led to a major budget crisis which was poised to lead to teacher layoffs and cuts to extracurricular activities. A portion of the funding was restored at the last minute, but not in time for new programs to be organized and added. But its addition is squarely on the radar of school officials, who expect to start a team next year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe plan is for the 2024-25 school year to initiate it, probably with volunteer coaches and a combined Brick Township-Brick Memorial team,\u201d said Farrell.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22932\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1554-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-2\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22932\" class=\"size-large wp-image-22932\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1554-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"The football field at Brick Township High School, Oct. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1554-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1554-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1554-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1554-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1554-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-22932\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The football field at Brick Township High School, Oct. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Farrell said the NFL provides grants to school districts for flag football teams. Ocean County schools have been eligible for funds from the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, each of which donates about $3,000 to cover the cost of coaching and ancillary expenses. It is likely a combination of fundraising and budget inclusion would be needed to cover the cost of equipment and transportation, however parents at the meeting said they would be more than happy to fund-raise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am 100 percent for it, and my gut feeling is that we\u2019re going to get this going soon,\u201d Farrell said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fcbkbttn_buttons_block\" id=\"fcbkbttn_left\"><div class=\"fb-share-button fcbkbttn_large_button \" data-href=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2023\/10\/a-team-of-their-own-brick-girls-want-flag-football-added-to-high-school-sports\/\" data-type=\"button_count\" data-size=\"large\"><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flag football has been growing in popularity across the world in recent years, and has carved itself a particular zone of heightened competition in the northeast. With teams and leagues springing up in New Jersey and elsewhere, a group of Brick Township girls in middle school are hoping to form a team that would represent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13,1648],"tags":[24,593,4484,5054,3092,3091,5055],"class_list":["post-22930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brick-schools","category-sports","tag-brick-nj-news","tag-brick-township-schools","tag-featured","tag-flag-football","tag-new-jersey-state-interscholastic-athletic-association","tag-njsiaa","tag-womens-sports","post_format-post-format-video"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bths_football_field_brick_1556-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgt2Ft-5XQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}