Flag football - a banner idea for local youth sports 10/15/2008 12:10 AM
By KENTON MAKIN Staff writer
From a distance, a flag football game held at Citizens Park Monday looked like a reenactment of the 2006 Super Bowl between Chicago and Indianapolis.
Yes, the Bears and the Colts met in their league's championship game, but the match-up turned out to be a culmination of everything a collection of local youth up to eight years old learned about the simplicities and nuances of the game of football.
Aiken County's Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department offered flag football to interested youth, and from the perspectives of safety and fun, the offering was a banner idea.
"The majority of the kids on my team had never played football before," Bears' offensive coordinator Thom Abbott said after Monday's game. "Just watching the kids grow from a couple of a months ago, where they didn't know where the line of scrimmage was ... we had to physically pick them up and put them on the line.
"Now we're calling plays in the huddle, and (the kids) know where they should go," Abbott added. "I can hardly contain myself; this was so much fun. I would pay to do this."
Abbott and Colts' head coach Ryan Eideneier were the quarterbacks for teams full of spirited players that ran an assortment of hook-and-ladder plays, play fakes and go routes. Eideneier, a former player at Eastern Michigan, placed an emphasis on safety as young players continued to grow in the game.
"I don't think kids should play tackle football until they're nine ... this is better to start off learning the game," Eideneier said.
The Bears' coaching staff had more of a family flair - Jourdan Dible, Thom Abbott's daughter, served as a defensive coordinator.
"The kids are so adorable and so much fun, it's really been an experience," said Dible, a senior at South Aiken High School. "(At first) it was total chaos. We tried man-to-man coverage, (to no avail). There's been a lot of practice, and now we're running more sophisticated coverages, such as zone."
Abbott, Eideneier and Dible gave credit to Aiken County PRT director Glenn Parker and hands-on athletic staff members such as James Wright.
"They're the ones that make this," Eideneier said. "I hope (Aiken County PRT) offers more camps (in the future).
"It's like coach (Eideneier) said, it's important that kids don't get hurt and learn the fundamentals of the game," Wright added. "I enjoy coaching kids ... (the players have displayed) commitment, pride and courage. The city did something real special with flag football."
Blake Argo, Nolan and Lane Grice, Peyton Eideneier, Zachary Chaney, Isaiah Klockman, Alton Adams and Carson Rossier made up the Colts' roster, which was coached by Ryan and wife Nikki.
Thomas Abbott, Cameron Swearingen, Sebastian Rogerson, Tristan Woodward, Ryan Conner, Christian Williams and Marlon Walcott made up the Bears' roster, which was coached by Thom, Dible, Cliff Conner and Wright.
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