NFL Flag Football Southshore League: Teaching local children lessons on and off the field

Three years ago, Dexter Holiday found himself spending hours in his car every weekend. He wasn’t just leisurely driving around, rather, he was traveling back and forth from his grandson’s flag football games.

After spending countless hours in the car, Holiday sparked an idea. He noticed that there was no flag football league in the Southshore area. But Holiday was about to change that.

With hard work, a lot of planning, and a partnership with NFL Flag, the largest flag football league in the country, Holiday succeeded. Fast forward to today, almost 100 athletes take the field every Saturday and compete in Holiday’s NFL Flag Football SouthShore League.

These aren’t just games; it is a community event. Where parents, athletes and coaches come together to promote not just the game of football, but teach these kids a lot of lessons they can carry over to their everyday lives.

One Big Family

Every Saturday nestled behind South Bay Church, you will see parents, coaches, and athletes together. With two flag football games going on at once, you will not only see athletes of all ages playing, but parents cheering them on from the sidelines.

That has been a focus for Holiday.

“I see the interaction,” Holiday said. “I see the kids getting to know each other, talking to one another, making new friends, and I think that is what is helping build our league.”

While playing, these kids are learning life lessons as well. According to Elana Ward, the athletic director, coach, and parent of two flag football players, said the growth she sees in her player is what makes sets their league above the rest.

“I love that because we want to teach the kids not only, yes, we want them to be great athletes,” Ward said. “We know everyone isn’t making it to the NFL, everyone isn’t playing high school, everyone isn’t going to play college. But the foundation, friendships, bonds and sportsmanship ,all of those things help you become a well-rounded person as you become an adult. I feel like they are getting a lot of those things out here.”

This league takes those lessons further. Before the start of each week, the league emails its parents, coaches and athletes a word of the week. This isn’t just a random word, but one they use as a teachable moment.

For instance, one word of the week they used was confidence. In an attempt to instill confidence in their players, the coaches teach this word in real time.

“The premise is to get the kids to focus on one thing, its confidence this week.” Holiday said. “It’s tenacity next week, and to get them to understand it’s not just getting out here and playing around, but you have to have hard work, tenacity, confidence the whole nine.”

“I really try to stress whatever we are working on, what that word of the day is," Holiday said. "I try to stress it in my huddles, during my practices, and during the games. Just now confidence we were getting down, so I called time out and I am like ‘Guys, don’t get your heads down. Your confidence is what is going to keep you going. That’s what is going to drive you through this game.”

At the end of each game, players are awarded a medal. While you may think the athlete that scores the most touchdowns, or has the most yards, may win the medal every week, that isn’t the case. In this league, the athletes that exemplifies that word of the week are awarded the medals. By doing so, the league makes a state that character development is far more important that the stats.

With the emphasis on development, parents are seeing a lot of changes in their children. For Ben and Melissa McLaughlin, their son Paul had never played a sport before. But after volunteering with the league over the summer, they were motivated to sign Paul up. Since joining the team. Paul hasn’t just learned about football, but his parents said it has been a learning experience for him.

“A lot more confidence,” Melissa said. “Because he hadn’t done it before. Hadn’t been on a team sport before. The boost of confidence for a while has extremely shown.”

While Paul was hesitant to start playing. Now, Melissa said he is talking about playing next year, and even wanting to try tackle as well.

Paul’s newfound love of football has him excited. Throughout the season, the McLaughlin’s said Paul counts down the days to practice, and even enjoys practicing at home. While it has been a memorable season for both Paul and his parents, one particular moment sticks out in his mother’s eyes.

After one game this season, Paul was awarded one of those coveted medals. After receiving that award, Paul was so excited that he wore the medal for two straight days and would not take it off.

“I cried on the way home,” Melissa said. “We were very proud of him. Just proud that he has taken it and learned from it. We are very proud of his determination and dedication.”

“He was very, very proud,” she added. “Like I said, he’s never been in a group setting like this before. It was definitely needed. He needed something like that to break out of his shell.”

Like the McLaughlin’s, Ward had a similar experience.

“I have a player that started off as a beginner,” Ward said. “He has just blossomed in two seasons that we have been here. His confidence. His mother told me that his confidence even at school, his demeanor, transfers from the football to here. It is a beautiful thing, and you are able to see the skills transferring into their lives.”

What is special about this league is that people of all abilities are allowed to join in and play.

Breaking the Mold

This league isn’t just for the boys. While football is a male dominated sport, this league gives the girls in the Southshore community an opportunity to play too.

Even giving them the choice to play on a coed team or an all-girls team, which ever makes them feel most comfortable. For one athlete, Hope Cable, her decision was an easy one.

“When you play for coed, the guys don’t ever pass to you,” Cable said. “They are like you are a girl, you can’t do it, we do it better. So, I feel like when you play for an all-girls team, we are not friends, teammates, we are all sisters on the team. I feel like we really bring each other up.”

Cable is the Quarter Back for the Jaguars 11-15 all-girls team, and has been playing flag football for three years. While this is her second season in the league, Cable said she looks forward to suiting up in her bright jersey and stepping on the field each week.

In those games, Cable channels all of the aggression she has pilled up over the week and takes it out on the football field. With her teammates, that she considers some of her best friends by her side, Cable said she has learned some pretty important life lessons.

“Believing in myself, believing I can do it,” Cable said. “Like when I don’t, when I don’t think I can. I just think with more confidence.”

When asked what her favorite moment has been on the field, Cable smiled and talked about a moment that truly boosted her confidence.

“Last game, I threw a really long ball to our best receiver, caught it,” Cable said. “That was a real wake up call for me, like we can do it if we put our minds to it. Don’t get down on each other, don’t get down on yourself. We can do it.”

Ward, who has been coaching for seven years, thinks breaking the mold is important.

“I love that even with our girl athletes, and it helps them bring that certain confidence, especially with young girls that have so many pressures like social media and everyday life that they try to live up to, so to speak,” Ward said. “When they come out here, I feel like it gives you a safe place to come with girls who are like-minded, who are all here to have fun to lift each other up.”

As the league grows bigger, Holiday’s main focus is teaching these players not only the game of football, but teach them to exceed in life as well. Holiday expects this football family to grow, and thrive in seasons to come. From that idea Holiday had three years ago, he created his own non-profit, partnered with NFL Flag, and even has his grandson on his team. While he has made a difference already, Holiday and the NFL Flag Football SouthShore league is eager to grow.

“What we’ve been trying to build is the camaraderie and the closeness as a community,” Holiday said. “I think that is what’s helping build our league. I’m focusing on making it family oriented.”

For more information about the NFL Flag Football Southshore League visit: https://clubs.bluesombrero.com/southshorenflflag