LIFESTYLE Weekends are for fun, friends and flag football
Founders of Kickoff Philippines share fundamentals of the sport and why they love it
While playing competitively might be daunting for someone looking to try a specific sport, it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun doing so.
Kickoff Philippines founders Joseph Sy, Job Umali, Edlen Hernandez, Bedict Elloso, Megan Elloso and Faith Belo believe that there is a sport that has the power to connect people of different walks of life, while at the same time, encouraging a healthy competitive environment. That sport is flag football.
What is flag football? Essentially, it is American football minus the protective gear and roughness. The ultimate goal of each team is to score touchdowns without the opposing team getting the flags attached to their belts.
Umali and Sy shared with us the fundamentals of flag football and why it’s a sport they aspire to cultivate.
What does someone need to start playing flag football?
Umali: You would need American football cleats and gloves. It will help you run your routes and catch the ball efficiently. If you are a quarterback (the one who throws the ball), that would depend on where you are comfortable. Lastly, the player must be disciplined to learn how the game works because every detail, such as the routes that will be taught and used, will resonate with the team’s game plan, which would affect every play of the game.
What was your best flag memory that can entice people to start playing flag?
Sy: The best flag memory that I have was scoring that first touchdown. When you’re new to the sport, it feels like scoring touchdowns isn’t very easy, although the addiction to improve is there. The best part about it is sharing that knowledge to other people and seeing them get better.
What is the biggest lesson someone can learn from flag football?
Sy: The biggest lesson that I learned is trust. Flag is a team sport and unlike other sports, you can’t just carry a team with a one-man army. You must work as a group, help everyone get better. Everyone is willing to share their knowledge and teach new players to get to that level where they can compete with everyone.
Since weekends are when we get to destress and spend quality time with family and friends, flag football can intersect these two. The adrenaline rush players get while catching the ball or getting a flag from another player is comparable to watching an F1 race, though in this case, you’re one of the main characters.
Whether you gather the courage to try out the sport by yourself, or you pull in your friends to play for your next gimmick, you’ll leave with more than what you came in with. Flag football is definitely a sport to try one weekend, and who knows, maybe you’ll keep coming back for more.
Follow @kickoffphofficial on Instagram to register for the Spooky 7’s Tournament on Oct. 30 in Everest Sky Pitch, and for more game, tournament and training schedules.