While flag football is being popularized in the world by being approved to be an Olympic sport in 2023, it is also becoming popular at Barnstable high school. This spring there will be a girls flag football team, run through the Patriots NFL franchise. The new BHS team is currently the only team on Cape Cod, but with a free clinic run by our Barnstable coaches, during April break coach Camden Lariviere hopes to inspire other schools on Cape to also provide girls flag football teams.
This idea originally sparked from Tim Lus, the Cape Cod youth sports director and became a topic of conversation among football coaches in the fall. Lariviere said he then volunteered to coach. He has been in contact with Andre Tippet (former NFL player and Hall of Famer), Koby Porawski, Jeff Johnson and a few others from Kraft Entertainment Sports to put this program together. With the Patriots’ support, the team will not have to pay for anything other than their buses for away games and cleats. The Patriots are looking to encourage clubs and sports. Currently the team is considered a club and not a varsity sport, while 17 other states have it registered as one. They have 36 players and 20 of them don’t play another spring sport. Lariviere doesn’t want to have a limit on participation. He is hoping to see as much participation as possible.
With a school of 1600 students only 400 play a spring sport, 300 in the winter, and 500 in the fall, Athletic Director Henry Stevens advocates for students to do something whether that’s a sport or any club. He sees this girls team as a great opportunity for girls who don’t have a spring sport. Junior Juliana Da Silva, who is one of the captains for the team, said she has always been an athlete and plays basketball in the winter. She loved football but did not love the idea of tackle. Eighth grader Maci Brown is also playing this year and enjoys football. She goes to so many of the BHS football games. Girls flag football has a lot of potential and scholarships that peak her interest, she said.
