FLAG FOOTBALL: Prattville to field first flag football team

Brian Pittman led the Prattville softball team to the 2023 regional playoffs. This fall he will coach the school’s first flag football team. (File Photo)

By TIM GAYLE

PRATTVILLE -- When Prattville High softball coach Brian Pittman elected to become the first-ever girls’ flag football coach for the Lions, he set some simple goals for the program.

“First and foremost, have fun,” Pittman said. “Have a passion and build it to a point where it’s sustained. We have a lot of interest. When we had the first meeting, we had 75-100 girls wanting to try out. Second, teach them the game, fundamentals, terminology, things like that. And the third thing is to hopefully have some success. I think that’ll lead to more people wanting to come out.”

The Lions open flag football practice on July 31, like many of their male counterparts in football programs throughout the state of Alabama. But there’s a different agenda for this team, which is still trying to learn plays and formations, along with a general idea of which players need to play in which positions. 

“You go through your normal tryouts,” Pittman said. “Everyone goes through receiver drills and you figure out which ones can catch, which ones can run. You look at defense, you want someone who is aggressive, so you look for an attribute that each one of them has.”

This is the third year for flag football in the state of Alabama and it has doubled each year with the amount of new programs joining the sport. Last year, Catholic became the first program in central Alabama to launch a flag football program. This year, Stanhope Elmore, Sidney Lanier and Prattville, among others, are launching programs in the sport. 

“We talked to some different schools,” Pittman said. “We talked to Auburn, who just won a state championship, to kind of get an idea on how they run things. For us, this year, it’s just going to be about them enjoying it. We obviously want to compete and want to go far (in the playoffs) but them learning a new game and enjoying it -- we only have two seniors -- it’s something we’re trying to build over a period of time.”

One of those two seniors, Kaylee Robles, plays shortstop on the softball team for Pittman and last week participated in the annual Alabama All-Stars Sports Week in the sport, but jumped at the chance to join the team as a defensive back and receiver.

“I had always heard about it,” Robles said. “In intermediate (school), when I was in the sixth grade, we played something called ‘capture the flag.’ It was kind of like flag football and that was fun for me. I might as well try it. It seems really cool.”

The concept came up when several girls at the school were searching for sponsors for a powder puff game, which led Prattville assistant softball coach Michael Battle to suggest the new sport to Pittman. Battle will be the offensive coordinator for the flag football program, while boys’ basketball coach Jason Fisher will be the defensive coordinator. 

Sophomore Brooklynn Johnson will be the Lions’ center and said playing flag football was a natural extension of her love for the sport. 

“It was just something different,” she said. “I’ve watched videos and I’ve always liked it. I like football. So when I heard ‘flag football,’ I was like, I’ve got to do it. I just want it to be fun. New experiences. Hopefully, we can go to state this year. I feel like we’ve got the team to do it.”

The Lions will play an ambitious 16-game schedule, but only games against area rivals Stanhope Elmore and Sidney Lanier count in the quest for a playoff berth. The top two teams in the three-team area will advance to a qualifying tournament at the Area 6 winner and the top team will advance to the state quarterfinals. 

But all of that will come much later in the season. Right now, Robles and fellow senior Hannah Malone are the leaders on a team that have simple goals for the 2023 season. 

“I just want to have fun, try to be a leader for the young girls since I’m a senior now,” Robles said. “Keep everybody’s spirits high (and) win a lot of games this year.”

The players understand their place as members of the first-ever flag football team at Prattville High. 

“It sounds fun, to be on the first team,” Johnson said. “You look back at it, 20 years from now, and see where the game has grown. Before it became big, I was there, on the first team.”

2023 PRATTVILLE FLAG FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 23 Opelika Away

Aug. 24 Valley Home

Aug. 29 *Stanhope Elmore Away

Sept. 5 *Sidney Lanier Home

Sept. 12 Central-Phenix City Away

Sept. 14 Smiths Station Home

Sept. 21 Valley Away

Sept. 26 Catholic Auburn

Sept. 26 Auburn Away

Sept. 28 Opelika Home

Oct. 3 Central-Phenix City Home

Oct. 5 Smiths Station Away

Oct. 10 *Stanhope Elmore Home

Oct. 12 *Sidney Lanier Away

Oct. 17 Catholic Home

Oct. 19 Brew Tech Home

*6A/7A Area 5