Montreal flag football team representing Canada at NFL tournament in Orlando

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Young athletes from Montreal’s Flight School Flag Football program are representing Canada at the International NFL Flag Championships in Orlando, Florida, this weekend.

Coach Jamil Springer says it’s an opportunity of a lifetime for the players, who are 12 and under, to compete in the prestigious tournament.

“I would say one word for this particular group would be perseverance,” he said.

Springer has been there each step of the way. The Montreal high school teacher founded the Flight School program in 2017. The program gives hundreds of underprivileged children a chance to play flag football, a non-tackling version of American football.

He says the goal was to create an equal playing field for youth of all ages, sizes and abilities. As a non-contact sport, flag football doesn’t require expensive equipment, and boys and girls can play on the same team.

According to the NFL, flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports globally, with women and girls driving some of the largest growth in participation.

Leah Kozubek, one of two female players on the Montreal team, says she was introduced to the sport through her brothers.

“It feels great, honestly, because you get to play with boys but also connect with the girls that that are in your team and you get to make plays that nobody really thought you were capable of doing. And that that really makes me proud.”

Coach Eliel Bastien said flag football is easy to learn and get proficient in a relatively short period of time, which keeps more people in the game.

“Once you get on the field and you absorb what we are trying to coach you, anybody can make it as long as you give your 100 per cent,” he said.

The team had to put in the hard yards to get to Orlando, having won the regional and national flag football championships. Player Jordel Springer said they’ve had to learn how to encourage one another.

“We always hype each other up when we’re in tough situations,” he said.

The tournament starts Friday, where they will compete against 12 other nations.

But for the coaches, they’re already thinking about Los Angeles, where flag football will be part of the 2028 Olympics.

“I definitely foresee someone on this team, maybe several people on this team at some point in time representing Canada at the Olympics,” he said.