By Katie Coseo
Published on October 10, 2007
Out on the field in the afternoon sun, football practice is in session. The women’s flag football team is up and running for another season and the players are as excited as ever.
“I love it,” said Jana Williams, a PJC sophomore and second-year player.
Any women interested in joining the team still are welcomed to. Some of the players have had past experience such as participating in powder puff games in high school or playing with their brothers in the back yard, but some are brand new to the sport.
“We’re teaching them [the game] from the get-go,” said Doug Rogers, intramural coordinator and flag football coach for the men’s and women’s teams.
On Thursdays the team goes through plays to learn the game. The teammates learn strategies, calls, and what to expect in certain scenarios. As the women go through new plays, Rogers carefully critiques their performance.
“This practice helps him decide what positions we’ll play,” said Sarah King who is playing for a second year.
“Everybody plays any position,” said Camellia Simmons, a sophomore and returning member of the team who enjoys “running long.”
Some of the players learned about the team through the Welcome Back luncheon at the Student Life Center. Others, such as Sarah King, came by chance.
“I found out about it through some friends that were forming a team with [Baptist Collegiate Ministries] and we all showed up here and Doug said, ‘Hey, play for the girls’ team.'”
Rogers’ experience in football is from playing in high school as well as playing semi-pro but says, “I’m most proud of our flag football teams at PJC.”
Competition-wise, the flag football teams will play in a regional tournament in Pensacola in the hopes of advancing to the national tournament.
“We’ve been competitive nationally, even with four-year colleges – so competitive that this year the new rule is community colleges have to play in their own division,” he said.
Doug Rogers encourages women to join the team.
“It’s recreational, I don’t yell or scream or make them do any extra push ups or workouts. They do it on their own and it’s for fun,” he said.
So far the women are having fun doing something not necessarily textbook-related.
“Thinking of PJC as something besides classes is kind a nice,” King said. “There’s other stuff to do here and I remind myself of that with football.”
Learning a new sport can be confusing and mistakes can be frustrating at times but Rogers just says to the girls, “If you make a mistake, make it at full speed.”