Football season could be right around the corner at Hampton High School.
Pending school board approval on March 11, the Talbots are on the way toward fielding a girls flag football club in the spring.
Athletic director Michael Gavlik gave a presentation at the board’s March 4 work session about a potential team, for which about 15 students in 10th through 12th grades expressed interest.
“A lot of the athletes who have signed up are volleyball players or soccer players,” Gavlik told the board. Flag football involves five players from each team on the field at one time, he explained, and the Hampton squad probably would be split into players specifically for offense or defense, to allow for more participation opportunities.
Forming the club is at no cost to the school district, as the National Football League and Pittsburgh Steelers provide stipends toward a head coach, five footballs, 25 flag belts and transportation, according to the school board agenda.
About 35 teams are competing in western Pennsylvania and more than 100 statewide, according to Gavlik.
“There have been schools that have been doing this for probably three or four years,” he said. “Practices are primarily two days a week, and the kids play on Sundays.”
Arrangements have been made with Hampton Township to use municipal fields for practice.
“We are fortunate that the times we need do not coincide with any of the youth sports,” Gavlik said. “So we’re good in that respect.”
Games begin April 7 and wrap up in mid-May, and championships will be held on the Steelers’ home turf, Acrisure Stadium. In the future, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association to schedule something similar.
“If it were to become a PIAA sports, as girls wrestling was sanctioned this year, then it could go as far as hopefully having a state championship in that sport,” Gavlik explained.
The next step for Hampton is to secure a sponsor to coach the team, optimally someone within the district. If not, the Steelers “have a pool of folks that we could lean on,” Gavlik said. “They know that there are multiple schools out there that may be starting this program.”
He ruled out one possibility:
“Mike Tomlin, no.”
Harry Funk is a TribLive news editor, specifically serving as editor of the Hampton, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine Creek and Bethel Park journals. A professional journalist since 1985, he joined TribLive in 2022. You can contact Harry at hfunk@triblive.com.
