The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Girls flag football on rise in area
Backers include NEO Flag Football, Browns and Nike
“I was surprised to see him here, an actual famous person.” — Perry’s JaC’ana Anderson, on Browns reciever Jarvis Landry
Music blared from the D.J.'s speakers at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium on Oct. 12.
New jerseys were unpacked, the Browns had a special tent set up and Jarvis Landry was in the house.
Yes, girls flag football is becoming a big deal in Northeast Ohio.
The Northeast Ohio Flag Football Association, in conjunction with Nike, the Browns and Gatorade, unveiled their new uniforms and their new intentions on Oct. 12, with Landry — the Browns receiver — on hand for the special evening of festivities.
“We're fortunate to have Nike and the Browns being a big part of this,” said Bob Berwald of NEO Flag. “Nike bought the jerseys for everybody and the Browns supported it. We're taking girls flag football in Ohio to the next step.”
Girls flag football came onto the stage this past spring when for the first time a league was set up, with schools from across the area getting teams together. Coaches like Kirtland's Tiger LaVerde, Perry's Matt Rosati and Mentor's
Berwald got on board by coaching girls flag football teams.
Now with the backing of Nike and the Browns — and with growing interest — girls flag football looks to be even stronger this coming spring.
Teams from Mentor, Lake Catholic, Perry, Strongsville, Kirtland and Nordonia were part of the Oct. 12 jersey unveiling, with the teams playing scrimmages afterward. Landry, coming off the Browns injured reserve list soon, posed for pictures, talked with players and even helped coach up the Mentor girls team during their scrimmage.
“Barriers are coming down every day in different parts of life, sports as
well,” Landry said. “This is that introduction of females and women being able to play this sport of football.”
Landry has a daughter, Joy (age 4) whom he could see playing girls flag football someday.
“I always tell my daughter ‘Do what you want to do and whatever you want to do, be the best at it,'” Landry said. “When she's old enough to play, whether it's football, basketball, piano, swimming or whatever, be the best at it. That's the same message to these ladies out here tonight.”
As she and her Perry teammates warmed up, JaC'ana Anderson of Perry tugged at her new jersey, impressed by the new duds that were an upgrade over the jerseys the girls wore a year ago.
Albeit an avid Steelers fan, Anderson covered her mouth in awe when Landry showed up and was one of the many girls who posed for selfies with the Browns star.
“I was surprised to see him here,” she said, “an actual famous person.”
She said she is excited for this year's flag football, more so than last year.
“I was more nervous last year,” she said.
The new jerseys, courtesy of Nike, aren't the only big news for NEO Flag. Berwald said the Mentor and Lake Catholic girls teams will play an exhibition at halftime of the Browns' “Thursday Night Football” game Oct. 21 against the visiting Broncos at First Energy Stadium.
Berwald also foresees girls flag football growing further, both statewide and nationwide.
Said Berwald, “We're going to meet in December and put into play how we can make this a club sport (in Ohio) and hope to turn it into an OHSAA-sanctioned sport.”