For Clayton Valley High School, 2023 will go into the school’s history books.
Clayton Valley is known for its many athletics including football, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, water polo, track and field, cheer, volleyball, and more recently, girl’s flag football.
This new sport was introduced to Clayton Valley in July. The preconditioning proved to be a success with many girls attending and ready to prove their interest as members of the first-ever Clayton Valley girls flag football team. It then got inducted officially into Clayton Valley’s athletics with their first game on August 26th.
They have practiced for two hours each day after school, and Coach Wendy Bumbaca has been impressed with their effort.
“They show up every day, on time and always give 110 percent,” said Bumbaca who is part of their seven-person coaching staff that includes head coach Dave Cooney.
The Eagles first season has been a tremendous success on the field as they captured the DVAL championship with an 8-1 record (10-4 overall). They are scheduled to begin the DVAL playoffs on Saturday against College Park.
As many people know, balancing sports with school can be difficult at times, and with flag football, it’s the same situation. The players focus on doing most of their work in classes and prioritizing their free-time so that they can give all they have out on the field. Sophomore Reagan Richards-Costello says that figuring out time management around this while also working on the sport is the key.
“Wanting to be the best version I can be is an accomplishment for me,” Richards-Costello said.
Many players on the team don’t only view the time they have practicing the sport as a workout, but also a time to see friends. They say that many friendships have developed from the team, and many players are close with each other.
In addition to friendships, practicing, and balancing the sport with school-work, they also made school history by being the first ever girl’s flag football team. Football is predominantly a male-dominated sport, and this new team are trailblazers for the sport and girls interested in it. Junior Julia Lovelace expressed how excited she was when she heard that the chance to participate in a girl’s flag football team came up.
“I come from a really big football family, and I was always watching it, and playing catch with friends,” Lovelace said.
A huge factor for coaching the first girl’s flag football team was Bumbaca’s love for the sport and wanting to share it with everybody, especially girls interested in it. She revealed that football is her favorite sport, and that she has always had a love for it even as a little girl, but didn’t have a lot of access to it. She hopes that the sport will have longevity and success with the school. Bumbaca also hopes for it to be as popular as the boy’s team and for it to be treated as a proper football team. If it grows even bigger, she thinks there could be three teams in the future.
With the sport already proving to be quite successful and only in its first few months, it's safe to say that flag football has a bright future ahead of it at Clayton Valley.
Photo Credit: CVCHS Girl's Flag Football Team
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