Watching the junior girls go against the senior girls in flag football on Nov. 23 has become a tradition, but many of the spectators don’t know the planning and practicing that occurs before the ladies take the field.
“First we warm up, stretch, do jumping jacks, and then we split up into different positions,” junior quarterback Morgan Brody said. “We have a different coach for each position, and then we put it together and run plays.”
Both Brody and senior Emily McCann had to learn the plays as quarterbacks for their respective teams.
“I honestly feel fine because once I throw the ball, my job is done I just stand there,” McCann said. “So I let the defenders do what they’ve got to do, and then I’m just throwing the ball and getting out of the way.”
Brody didn’t have such a laid-back attitude about her position.
“Because the quarterback has to make decisions based on what they think is right, and it’s scary if you make the wrong decision,” Brody said.
Planning Powder Puff takes a lot of work and is a huge time commitment.
“I’m on Student Council, and a lot of planning and hard work goes into Powder Puff,” senior wide receiver and safety Katie Heitz said.
Heitz noted that the time commitment before the big game ensures that the event goes smoothly.
“You have to go to at least two of the four possible practices to be eligible to play, but it’s worth it in the long run.”
One of the reasons is to ensure that participants who haven’t played football before.
“My brothers played and I’ve cheered for it for the past four years, but I still don’t know a lot about it,” Heitz said.
On the sidelines, the student coaches and cheerleaders learn that their role is simply to support their counterparts on the field.
“Usually Ethan Guller yells and gets everybody excited because he’s the class president, so he’s good at that,” junior coach Michael Caradine said.
The girls said the excitement they felt playing on the field under the lights was the incentive to keep up this yearly tradition.
“I think it’s a fun way to organize all these girls that play a bunch of different sports,” McCann said. “It’s all inclusive and it’s fun because the guys are cheering for us.”