Photo By Lance Cpl. Katalynn M. Rodgers | The Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Vikings and the Murphy Canyon Cowboys came to...... read more read more
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SAN DIEGO - The Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Vikings and the Murphy Canyon Cowboys came to a stalemate at the end of their 40-minute game with neither team scoring any points Dec. 3.
MCRD and Murphy Canyon’s eight- to ten-year-old flag football teams played on the field together unnoticing of the score, listening to their coaches and smiling at their parents.
“The kids really don’t know the score,” said Marry Young, special events coordinator, Marine Corps Community Services. “We just let them play. It’s about developing skills and playing. A recreational sport is about the game, not the competition.”
Since this was a friendly game, with no score being kept the children were able to focus on learning how to play the game.
Although the teams couldn’t shake the other’s defense, they didn’t let it get them down and kept pushing toward the end zone.
“I like to play football because all of my friends are here,” said Andrew Hernandez, MCRD Vikings player. “We get to work together when we play.”
In flag football, the game is interrupted when a defender pulls a flag or strip of cloth from the offensive player’s belt, who has possession of the ball.
Needless to say, there were plenty of flags on the field for this game. The ball traveled back and forth across yards of grass as the children tried to break away and score a touchdown.
The teams would play through their four downs, trying to gain ground toward the end zone rather than be pushed back, but neither was successful.
MCRD held their way through the downs, decreasing the yards between them and the end zone marginally. Then they would rush past the defense, getting caught mere yards from the end zone.
Fortunately for Murphy Canyon, they were able to take the ball back and perform an almost mirror image to MCRD’s previous plays.
Both teams were able to successfully goose egg each other, leaving the final score at 0-0.
After the clock ticked off the last second, the children happily lined up to give each other high-fives and tell each other “good game.”
“The youth sports program really benefits the children,” said Lydia Lawrence, whose son plays with the Vikings. “It helps them build confidence and make friends here that they wouldn’t necessarily make at school.”
Flag football can help build community and camaraderie between the kids and gives children a chance to develop leadership skills through organized teams.
“It’s an opportunity for kids to identify with their community and it allows for them to have community pride,” added Young.
These sports allow children to get active and stay healthy, all while spending the day playing with other children, said Young.
The flag football season is part of a series of sports provided throughout the year by Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego’s Family Team Building.
Children who wanted to play football were placed into divisions based on their ages. There were three divisions; 5-7 year olds, 8-10 year olds and 11-13 year olds.
The next flag football games are slated for Dec. 10 at MCRD San Diego.
For more information or to sign your children up for future youth sports seasons, contact Rafael Aceves, youth sports coordinator, at 619-524-8382 or Claudia Short at 619-524-0916.
| Date Taken: | 12.09.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.21.2011 19:13 |
| Story ID: | 81658 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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