“If you want to get into a sport that gives you a chance to win an Olympic medal, this is the one”, said Cheltenham Neptunes head coach Daniel Sellwood.
Flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK and it’s slated to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
Sellwood believes that getting into grassroots flag football is as good of an opportunity as any to get into the frame to win a medal for Great Britain.
“There’s huge huge potential, we have people who have been in this sport for less than a year who are having trials at GB.
“This is a sport you can get into and get to a very high level, very fast, if you have the athletic profile and the drive you can do it,” said Sellwood.
Flag football is a sport for all and its inclusivity is one of the main selling points, “It’s so inclusive, we have so many people from so many different walks of life, I’m a doctor myself,” he said.
“But we have people as young as 16 who have come along here, we have women and men, even ex-pros from other sports that are coming in to play a non-contact fun sport.
“We also have people who come from basketball, contact American football, it ranges from people who’ve never seen the game to people that have loved American football all their life. It brings everyone together, and it’s great fun.”
Whether you love American football or are completely new to the sport, Sellwood believes there’s something for everyone in flag football.
“If you love American football and you’ve played full contact before, it’s a great way of getting some of that without the sense of danger that comes from full contact.
“For other people like me, I’m a massive nerd! I love all the schemes and the tactics, I love watching film, so that’s what I love about it, even if I’m in the minority there!
“And then for people who just want to sling a ball around, jump very high, catch a ball and run fast, it’s got something for everybody,” he said.
1 week again Team GB women’s flag football team made history, winning gold at the European Championships! 🏆
— Phoebe Schecter (@Phoebe_Schecter) August 27, 2023
Now the focus turns to the @IFAFMedia World’s next year! So excited to build to the next level! pic.twitter.com/VOmaX24yts
Sellwood also believes that the women’s game is full of fantastic potential, “We have women on our team, as well as having individual women’s teams and that brings a different dynamic to it.
“Some of the sports I’ve found that I’ve been involved with have had a degree of toxic masculinity involved in them, so having a different perspective there is great.
“They’re also elite athletes in their own right, I think our GB Women’s team have been unbelievable, they won the Euros not very long ago.
“They were doing unbelievably at the World Championships as well, reaching the quarter-finals, but I think if they’d have won that tight game, there’s no doubt they’d have made the final,” he said.
In terms of our medal hopes, GB Women are right up there in terms of getting a medal in four years”
Get involved!
Anyone can get involved in flag football, if you want to give it a go in the Gloucestershire area, head to @CheltenhamNeptunes and drop them a message or just turn up to Newlands Park in Cheltenham every Thursday between 8:30 pm and 10 pm when they train!
