Ready, Set, Hike! It’s football season, Vipers! That’s right, the Lady Flag Football season is officially here. This year is the second year of flag football at Verrado.
The coaching staff has expanded from last year. It consists of Coach Willhite, Coach Barrientos, Coach Barnes, and Coach Booth.
All these coaches have specific roles on the team; Coach Barnes is the head coach as well as defensive coordinator, Coach Booth is an assistant coach dealing with team event schedules and athlete’s documents, Coach Willhite is another assistant coach also the offense coach, and Coach Barrientos is the last assistant coach. He is also helping with defense and is the special teams coach.
The ladies have been building up their team over the past two months and they are working hard to become the best team they possibly can.
Coach Barnes says, “The team is moving in the right direction but we still have a lot of work to do. I believe we will be very competitive this year. We have a lot of returning players with experience.”
This year the team hopes to be able to give a good challenge to the different teams with the progress they have made as a whole. They are very determined to get some wins this year. With the oncoming season ahead, the team will have to face multiple challenges throughout, whether that will be things in their control or outside.
Coach Willhite states, “Verrado Varsity Flag Football has attracted many elite athletes from other sports. The challenge as a coach is using the various skills learned in those other sports and applying them directly to the fundamentals of football…We have already had scheduling challenges with practice fields and conflicting game schedules with JV and Freshman boys football and unless flag football is moved to deconflict with boys football, these challenges will always be an issue. Flag football rules vary between organizations and age levels, so consistent officiating will undoubtedly be an issue this season. I am optimistic, not only for the future of this sport, this season, this team, and its athletes, but I also take an optimistic approach toward life.”
Since flag football is a newer high school sport there are still a lot of problems with scheduling and the rulebook. The team is trying to progress though with a positive mindset and hopes to find solutions to challenges in their control.
Coach Booth, who is also a student support specialist, states “It’s really important to me athletes take care of their mental health, my role on campus is to support students so I am going to incorporate more self-care relaxing activities for the team”.
“I am looking forward to a great season! Let’s go Lady Vipers!!” says Coach Barrientos.
The Lady Vipers won their first game on Aug 31st against West View, 7-2.
All the home games as of now are on, Sep 12th, Sep 20th, Sep 26th, Oct 3rd, Oct 4th, and Oct 19th. September 26 is senior night and is against Agua Fria. The seniors this year include Sammanta Miller, Noelia Vargas, Jordan Geter, Angelina Topps, Erika Barrientos, Jasmin Cummins, Aryna Garcia, Lorraine Palacios, Kalia Santos, and Maegan Winstanley. Senior Sammanta Miller scored the team their first touchdown this season. The team would love it if students would come and support them throughout the season.
To prepare for this year’s season, the athletes have been practicing since the summer. They are also doing class sessions every Friday to review, film, and study their plays.
The Lady Vipers are ready to dominate this season.
For more updates on what is happening during their season and their game schedule, follow them @verradoflagfootball on Instagram.
