There’s a new twist to football, and kids are gravitating to it.
Students at James Hart School got to run with the Chicago Bears Monsters Flag Football program on Friday, Sept. 19.
It was a bright, sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s on Sept. 19, a perfect day for the sixth, seventh and eighth graders to be out on the field doing drills that are similar to traditional football warmups, minus the tackling.
It’s called flag football because players wear “flags,” similar to ribbons. This day the flags at their waist were orange and blue decorated with the Bears logo. The player who captures the opponent’s flag stops play action, just as a tackle would. The object is for a team to get the ball into the end zone, as in traditional football, but without the direct contact.
James Hart School students test their footwork at the Monsters Flag Football program sponsored by the Chicago Bears. (Marilyn Thomas/H-F Chronicle)
James Hart students got a special introduction from Steve Edwards, an offensive lineman for the Bears from 2002 to 2005 who serves as an ambassador for the team. Edwards had no trouble finding the school because his daughter, Brooklyn Edwards, graduated from Hart.
“I love that flag football is starting to grow, especially as an opportunity for girls,” Edwards told the students as they gathered around him on the open field adjacent to the Homewood school. He reminded them that flag football will be part of the next Olympics and there are college scholarships available for flag football players.
“It’s a new program. The main thing is (to) have a good time,” Edwards said.
Booming music could be heard across the field. Parent volunteers manned stations to help students improve at different positions – quarterback, running back, defensive back, wide receiver. The kids improved their footwork as they jogged around poles, tried to intercept a pass and steal another’s flag.
Eighth grader Lyric Hendrick said she was interested in the drills. Fellow eighth grader Tyler Matula said he’s played football before, but he appreciated the practice and extra training.
A student tests her passing ability during the Monsters Flag Football program Sept. 19 at Hart School. (Marilyn Thomas/H-F Chronicle)
Parent Danielle Reynolds said her seventh grader, Aubrey Reynolds, loves football and was really excited to see the district had this program. Parent Adriana Morris, whose son, Anthony, is in eighth grade, had the same sentiment. Anthony was “so excited” about the program, and “I think it’s really awesome they do it.”
Monsters Flag Football sponsored by Invisalign came to James Hart after PE teacher Carey Sullivan filled out an information form at a Bears booth during a PE conference in 2024. Flag Football is part of Hart’s fall PE program, but having the Bears come was really special for the kids and for him.
Sullivan and Edwards played football together at Mt. Carmel High School where they were members of the 1996 graduating class. Sullivan was delighted to learn his teammate would be part of the Hart flag football mini-camp.