Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Youth practice flag football at the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex in 2019.
Registration for youth flag football in Vestavia Hills remains open through July 22, and there’s a new league this year for girls only.
The flag football league is open to any Vestavia Hills resident through age 16, with divisions broken down by age groups. In recent years, there have been about 400 children participating each year, said Will Harrington, an athletic program coordinator for the Vestavia Hills Parks and Leisure Services Department.
This year, with growing interest in the sport among girls, Vestavia Hills is partnering with the Hoover Parks and Recreation Department to offer a league specifically for girls in grades 4-6, Harrington said.
Games for the girls league should start the last week of August or first week of September and extend through October, Harrington said. Girls games likely will be on Tuesday and Thursday nights and possibly Saturday afternoon, depending on the availability of teams that register as a pre-formed team, he said.
There likely will be seven to eight girls per team, and games will feature 5-on-5 play with substitutions, he said. Girls can register as a complete team or register individually and be put on a team, he said. Girls games will be split between the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex and a location in Hoover, he said.
Games for the boys should start Aug. 24, and the regular season should go through the end of October, with all-starts playing the first week of November, Harrington said. There likely will be seven to eight boys per team for grades 1-4 and nine to 10 boys per team for grades 5-6, and games will feature 5-on-5 play for grades 1-4 and 6-on-6 play for grades 5-6, he said.
Boys games likely will be played Wednesday nights and Saturdays, all at the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex, Harrington said. Practices will be divided between the SHAC and fields at Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights, Vestavia Hills Elementary East and Pizitz Middle School, he said.
The cost to register is $120 per player. Parents can register their children here.
For more information, call Harrington at 205-834-5295 or email him at wharrington@vhal.org.
