Sporting News

NFL Flag Nationals on the Gold Coast!

Our NFL Flag team flew to the Gold Coast on Monday to represent Victoria at the first ever Australian National Championships. It was Jye’s birthday and first ever flight - he celebrated with a shoutout from the cabin crew. 

Staying at the hotel with 6 other teams, we were treated like stars. The team filled the afternoon with fun in the pool, relaxing in the recovery compression boots and checking out some real NFL helmets and pads. Ari and Chloe also attended a Quarterback Masterclass training session, working on their footwork, throwing and catching. After dinner and mini golfing, it was time for a big sleep to get ready for the competition day. 

We played 5 games throughout the day – the standard of play was excellent from all teams, and all of our games were very close. If a few extra plays had gone our way we likely would have made the semi finals. However, it wasn’t to be, and we finished with 1 win and 4 losses. We were so close to beating the team that finished 2nd, and they were only one dropped catch away from winning the grand final. Our final placing was 6th out of 10 teams – a superb effort for a group who only started learning the game 4 months ago!

The team also enjoyed all the extra fun there – meeting NFL alumni players Sav Rocca, Ben Graham and Todd Gurley, and many other famous faces. 

A huge thank you to the parents who supported the children throughout the whole experience, and of course an enormous congratulations to the students for representing the school and themselves so well. 

Quotes from some kids

Emily – It was an amazing opportunity – thanks to all the teachers who helped organise and coach us, and thank you to our parents for supporting us.

Isla – playing NFL Flag was a blast! I hope I get the chance to play again. 

Zarli – it was a really great experience and I loved playing Flag with my friends. 

Jasmine – I loved meeting kids from all the other states. 

Ari – my favourite parts were meeting Todd Gurley and playing against the other teams. 

Laughlin – the hotel was cool and playing mini golf was awesome!

Jye – I loved meeting Sav, Ben and Todd!