Girls to compete in flag football this spring

This spring, girls at West Milford High School will be taking their skills to the gridiron.

The Highlanders will field a new club team in a tri-state high school girls flag football league that was launched in 2021 by the New York Jets along with Nike and Gatorade.

The expanding league will have 52 high school teams from New Jersey and more than 100 teams across the Hudson Valley, Long Island and the Garden State.

“We’re very excited to get girls flag football going in West Milford,” said the newly appointed coach, Matthew Keyzer, 29. “Our team will be a developmental club playing other high school teams in northern New Jersey.

“The support of the high school athletic director, Joe Trentacosta, and staff and Board of Education has been amazing as has interest among students,” he said. “We’re early in the process of getting things organized but well on our way to fielding a girls flag football team this spring.”

A proposal to establish the team was approved during the Board of Education meeting Jan. 31. Funding for the program, including compensation for Keyzer, is fully covered by a New York Jets grant of $4,644.

In addition to his special-education teaching duties at the Macopin Elementary School, Keyzer, a West Milford resident, is an assistant coach on the high school boys football and girls softball teams and assistant basketball coach at Lakeland High School.

He previously taught special education in the Lakeland school district for six years.

Inspired by student

Keyser credits the idea of the new club largely to Tiffany Vargas, who enrolled as a junior at the high school in the current academic year after her family moved from Hawthorne.

Vargas, 17, had played girls flag football at Hawthorne High School as part of the inaugural league and noticed that West Milford did not have a program.

“I would like to thank the Jets for allowing me to have the tools I had to be able to advocate flag football for West Milford,” she said. “It was a sport I did last year before I moved here and the team felt like family, so I wanted to experience that for two more years.”

Keyzer said, “Tiffany has shown great leadership, passion and determination in getting the flag football program going. The presentation Tiffany developed was outstanding, and she took the initiative of getting the discussion started at the high school and getting the grant from the Jets.”

Strong initial interest

As part of the program exploration and grant process, Vargas surveyed interest in girls flag football among her new classmates. The result was extremely positive, with some 60 girls expressing interest in playing.

“With interest affirmed and support of high school leadership, along the Jets grant, the decision was made to move forward with the program,” Keyzer said. “We were all very excited to get ready and onto the playing field.”

The coach understands that as an inaugural program, player teaching and development will be the priority. “For most of our girls, playing flag-football will be new. The program will be built from the ground up, and for all the girls involved we’ll provide a team-oriented experience from which they can learn, bond, compete, grow and have fun.

“I’m grateful, too, for the support of boys head football coach Steve Maslanek for his support and others on the staff.”

Busy season

Keyzer pointed out the challenges of logistics and scheduling practices and games during a very busy spring sports season.

On Feb. 6, he hosted a well-attended sign-up meeting to give an overview of the program, set expectations, provide an orientation to flag football and team activities, and answer questions.

“The sign-up meeting was great, lots of positive energy - we’re ready to roll. We’ll be holding tryouts, identifying position players, creating a playbook, holding classroom and video sessions to better understand the fundamentals of flag football, scheduling training and practice sessions, preparing for games, and more.”

Among those attending was senior Sarah Pilaar, 17, a multisport athlete who played on the boys varsity football team for one season as well as competing in varsity fencing and soccer.

“We’re very excited and passionate to get going with flag football as a team,” she said. “It will be a bonding experience, and I’ confident that we’ll field a strong team.”

Senior Jakki Galella, 18, who participates in varsity track and field, lacrosse, and field hockey, believes the program is a great way to show unity in athletes, with girls from different sports participating.

“Football is not normally equated with females, so this is another opportunity to show how strong women can be by playing and playing well. Many of the best athletes at the high school are girls, so I think we’ll be competitive,” she said.

Junior Avery Vacca, 17, also a multisports athlete, said the new flag football program is a solid extension of the girls sports at the high school.

“The flag football program is another way to bring our girl student-athletes together to learn, compete and gain a new passion. This spring season is the beginning, and while at first it might be tough, we’ll figure everything out quickly, play our best and build for the future.”

Friday night lights

The West Milford team will play home games at McCormack Field and travel to opposition high school fields.

Each team fields seven players and plays on a field measuring 80 by 40 yards.

On Sunday, March 26, the team and coach will travel to the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park as part of its pre-season program.

“I’d like to get some Friday night lights games for our girls to experience,” Keyser said. “There is quite a lot to get done in a relatively short time.”

The West Milford team will be part of the Super Football Conference, playing in a division that includes Jefferson, Indian Hills, Ramapo, Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley high schools and Passaic County Technical Institute, which won the inaugural state championship game at MetLife Stadium in 2021. Irvington took the Garden State championship in 2022.

Beginning the first week of April, weekly games will be played through mid-May, with 2023 New Jersey and New York championship games to be played June 10 at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.

As spelled out on the Jets website, the expansion of the league in 2023 builds on the initiative that launched it in 2021. The long-term goal is to have the sport adopted as an official varsity championship sport in New Jersey and other states.

‘The Jets, Nike, Gatorade believe girls should have the opportunity to play football and experience everything the greatest game in the world has to offer. The Jets High School Girls Flag Football League provides character building, perseverance, teamwork and dedication skills that will empower these girls throughout every aspect of their lives.’

Keyser said, “We’re especially grateful to the Jets for their grant and spearheading the girls flag football league in New Jersey and beyond.

“Great thanks to Nike, too, which will provide team uniforms – we’ll look great on the field and proudly represent West Milford.”

He pointed out that the West Milford community has an outstanding commitment to academics and athletics and understands the importance of learning and extracurricular activities for our young people.

“Now we have girls flag football as another opportunity for our students, and I’m excited to coach these young ladies,” he said.

“It’s also an opportunity for parents and families, other students and friends and residents of West Milford to come out to watch the games and cheer on the team.”