The 2011 season of the San Diego American Flag Football League (SDAFFL) is set to kick off March 12. However, anyone interested in playing this year has an opportunity to join the league before teams ever take their first snaps.
The San Diego group is one of California’s premier seven-on-seven flag football leagues. The SDAFFL is one of the largest flag football leagues of its kind in the United States with 12 teams and more than 175 players participating.
“We are an all-inclusive group that is dedicated to inclusion regardless of your orientation, your questioning status, your gender,” said Mike Paganelli, SDAFFL Commissioner. “Really, what we try to do is foster a competitive environment through the sport of flag football. More than that, it is the social aspect of bringing people together and really creating a family. (It’s) giving people the opportunity to become part of a social network within the gay community of San Diego.”
Coach’s start with a blank slate each year and draft the teams from the list of available players. To be drafted, however, each player must attend one of two Skills Clinics, taking place Feb. 5 and Feb. 12. The coach’s evaluate player abilities to create the season’s teams.
“Everyone who wants to play gets on a team. That goes along with our inclusionary nature,” Paganelli said.
“We’re talking all levels of players, from people who have never caught a ball, thrown a ball or have run, to people who have played in college,” said Russ Edra, SDAFFL’s Public Relations Manager. “The teams are distributed that way. You are not going to have a team full of all college players. You are going to have a team that has all skill levels. It’s a whole lot of fun.”
“When I joined the league six years ago, I had never thrown a football in my life. I had nothing to do with it,” Paganelli admitted. “I joined because I had friends tthat told me this was something I should get involved with. I thought it would be really cool.”
Once all the players are assigned to teams and rosters are set, teams have three weeks to practice before the season kicks off. Everyone who comes to a clinic will be drafted. The league is expecting 12 teams this year, two more than last year.
For more information about the league or this year’s season, log on to sdffl.org.
