Flag football gains popularity in Vestavia, while tackle football maintains presence

While national conversations continue surrounding the impact of football on the brain, flag football is gaining popularity among Vestavia Hills youth, while participation in tackle football has decreased somewhat, youth football officials say.

Participation increased in the Vestavia Hills Youth Flag Football League from about 150 children in 2014 to 320 in 2018 and about 300 players this year.

When the Over-the-Mountain tackle youth football league disbanded due to low participation, many of those players from Vestavia Hills split up between the other tackle league and the flag football league.

Vestavia’s tackle football program saw its overall numbers decline somewhat but still has about 175 to 180 children participating, said Mitch Bevill, who serves on the Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation Board and helped establish the youth football league.

This year, there are 30 flag football teams and seven tackle football teams, with high school freshmen now eligible to play flag football, Bevill said.

Bevill said while tackle numbers are good, parents are “more cautious” than they have been previously, with more NFL players leaving the game at an earlier age to avoid injuries or because of injuries.

Still, for those who choose to participate in tackle football, coaches undergo a rigorous certification process, being certified through USA Football and the Coach Safely foundation. They learn crucial aspects of coaching, such as preventing and responding to head and heat injuries, said Rusty Weaver, who coaches tackle and has previously coached flag football.

Bevill said all coaches go through state training to learn how to prevent concussions, and while children still can get hurt playing football, coaches do their best to keep them safe. Weaver said the sixth-grade team he coaches actually has a team doctor.

This year, for the first time, an on-site sports medical trainer will be on hand at the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex, where the youth football games are held, Weaver said.

Bevill said in tackle football, children are learning to take care of the ball as well as how to tackle properly.

Scott Hughen, president of the Vestavia Hills Youth Football League, said proper tackling techniques are constantly taught, and coaches are constantly learning as well. Proper tackling includes, among other things, making sure the player’s head is tilted properly and how to start and finish a tackle.

Bevill, Weaver and Hughen said they aren’t aware of many major injuries that have occurred in youth football.

Hughen said contact between players in tackle football is limited during practice, and coaches also emphasize avoiding unnecessary contact during games. Coaches are allowed eight hours of practice during non-game weeks, and six hours of practice during game weeks, Hughen said. Full-contact practices are not allowed on back-to-back days, he said.

In addition to parents possibly feeling safer about their children playing flag football, it also provides a higher chance of playing time, Bevill said. In flag football, there are five players to a side and usually a roster of seven to eight players per team, he said.

George Lawton, who has two sons on a third-grade team, said his sons play flag not because of any issues with tackle, but to help them learn the sport while their bodies continue to grow. Once they grow physically, Lawton said they might play tackle football.

“I think the more sports you can expose your kids to, the better,” he said.

Lawton said his sons are also learning other fundamentals, such as how to hand the ball off, receive a handoff and run routes as a receiver.

Bevill said some kids who play flag football would never play tackle. He expects flag football to continue to gain players and participation rates for tackle football to stay about the same.