Palm Coast is getting its second youth flag football league.
Coaches and parents expressed dissatisfaction with the current league, Mosquito Sports, which is based in Orlando. That led to the creation of Mad Dogs Flag Football of Palm Coast. The vision for the new league started nearly a year ago, and the execution of that vision began about six months ago. The league, which will commence its inaugural season in March 2019, is being started by Jarrod Maxwell, who is a longtime youth football coach in the area and a local business owner.
“These kids deserve a league that wants what is best for them,” Maxwell said in a release. “They need coaches who continually want to get better and a league that is invested in them from the moment they step onto the field until they are prepared to go onto whatever is next.”
The start date for the league is March 16. However, a robust preseason schedule of coaching clinics, position-specific coaching sessions and practices begins in February.
The regular season is eight-weeks long, which will be followed by playoffs. They’re also planning to include an end-of-the-season banquet or awards ceremony. Games will be played at Wadsworth Park.
You can sign up to play at maddogsfootball.net. The cost to play is $125 per season, which will go to offset the cost jerseys, belts, paying referees and so on. Age groups start as young as 5 years old and end at 15.
The league is expecting 155-200 kids, according to coach and Marketing Director Michael Schottey. He said 12 coaches are already committed to bringing their teams from the current league to the new league.
In addition, youth flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country right now — especially with brain injury concerns in tackle football.
“We think that there’s a ready-made audience for it,” he said. “We’re meeting that need.”