CRESTVIEW — Crestview High School's flag football season is quickly approaching; teams across the state open the regular season March 7.
But not all the Bulldogs' preparation is on the field.
Like other CHS sports, flag football receives no school board funding. And, because the $5,000 flag football program hasn’t caught on like boys football, there are no packed houses at Jack Foster Stadium to cover costs.
The team started fundraising Thursday night at Beef O’Brady’s — one of many efforts to support the program.
This is Okaloosa County's third season for flag football, which is still finding its niche. “It’s difficult because a lot of people don’t think it’s a real sport," Sanders said. "They are like, ‘Oh that’s just a girls club.’”
However, the team plays a legitimate brand of football, even if it isn’t the game fans see Friday nights in the fall, he said. “This is the closest thing they can get to football,” Sanders said of the girls team. “All of them saw their older brothers and cousins playing football, and this is what they wanted to do."
Sanders said 61 girls tried out for CHS's team; he kept 33 players for the varsity and junior varsity teams. Each player must participate in every fundraiser, but the one thing they won’t have to do is pay to play.
“… Some of the girls we have, they come from difficult backgrounds," Sanders said. "I would rather them not have to pay anything unless we absolutely have to, so we get out here and fundraise.”
The program's costs are steep, even just for bus trips to games. “A lot of people don’t realize in Okaloosa County, and most of the state of Florida, we have to pay for our own travel,” Sanders said. “I want to say the average bus trip, if we go to Choctaw or Fort Walton, is usually about $200 a trip. I don’t think people really realize that."
Further, few flag football teams are around here, so the Bulldogs must make two trips to Tallahassee.
“When you have to take a school bus all the way to Tallahassee, that’s an expensive trip," Sanders said. "Luckily, we have some coaches on our staff that drive for us or that expense would be about double.”
Expenses also include paying officials for home games and purchasing new uniforms.
Junior varsity player Sabrina Patterson said she understands fundraisers' importance to the program.
“It’s very important because we don’t get a lot of money for girls sports so it’s fun to get out here and do this,” she said. “It’s fun meeting new people and just working with them."
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: NOT 'JUST A GIRLS' CLUB': Bulldog flag football team raises funds, challenges stereotypes