Every year Monte Vista holds a highly anticipated flag football game between the senior and junior girls known as Power. The game is hyped up for the weeks to come and a major event for all Monte Vista students. However, after the game no one seems to care anymore about women’s flag football here at Monte Vista. All of that changes starting this school year.
This year, Monte Vista unveiled a brand new sport on our campus- women’s flag football. The brand new flag football team is the first time ever that Monte Vista’s girls will be able to compete against other schools competitively in football. Although the current football team does not strictly allow only men to compete, no women participate on the team. Women’s flag football will allow the girls at Monte Vista to showcase their skills against other EBAL teams. After August’s informational meeting almost 45 girls came out to try out for the team. By the end of tryouts, 24 girls were officially a part of the squad.
Junior athlete Riley Archuleta said, “We hope to start this inaugural season off strong, and be able to extend the program for the years to come!”
The team will be led by coach Steven Hewett. Coach Hewett is a former high school quarterback who has been teaching flag football for almost six years. Coach Hewett teaches fifth grade right across town at Sycamore Elementary School.
“It feels great to be a part of an inaugural sport here at Monte Vista,” said Hewett. “While it feels great for me to be head coach I want to make sure they are having an enjoyable time playing.”
Although Coach Hewett and his teams are focusing on fun and building team comradery, the team has a much larger goal in their sights.
“We want to be EBAL champions this year!” said Archuleta.
Monte Vista has already begun embarking on their journey of achieving their EBAL goals. On Tuesday September 5th, the team underwent their first double header of the season. Their first game was a tough loss to California High School, however the girls quickly recouped and won a 13-12 bout against Granada High School. Some big dates to look forward to are September 19th and October 24th where the Mustangs will take on cross-town rivals San Ramon Valley High School.
As the team continues on their season to crown themselves as EBAL champions they also have another major goal they want to achieve. The Women’s Flag Football team wants to make a statement and show that the women’s football teams can succeed. The girls and coaches want to pioneer a new route for women athletes and make a name for our girl teams. In order to make a name for themselves, the team will also need the full support of the student body in order to succeed in their goals.
“I would love for every student who is available to make it to our games,” said Coach Hewett. “Make it feel like a home environment filled with excitement and support for our wonderful girls.”
The Women’s Flag Football team is pioneering a brand new era for Monte Vista Athletics. Coach Hewett and his athletes are up to the challenge of bringing both the recognition and winning spirit to Monte Vista.
