Women's Flag Football is Officially Coming to Dean College
Dean College Athletics has officially announced that women's flag football is set to be the ninth women's-sponsored sport on campus.
It is starting off as a club this school year, but in the 2027-2028 academic school year, the team will officially join the NCAA. It will become just the third NCAA-sanctioned institution to offer the sport.
The Dean Daily had the opportunity to sit down with the head coach of the women's flag football team, Antonio Young. Young is also the defensive coordinator for the football team and brings a lot of experience to the table.
When asked about the vision Coach Young has for this program he said, "The vision I have for women's flag football encapsulates the idea that strong minded and strong women athletes get a chance to perform at an NCAA level," Young also added, "To get an opportunity to showcase their talents on the football field where many women don't get the chance to do so."
This team is expected to be competitive right from the jump. Without a doubt, a serious commitment for anyone, with long travel, late nights, and workouts.
Coach Young made it known he wants this team to be as nationally known as possible, and he added, "It's a serious NCAA program; it is extremely important to me that people understand we're doing workouts in the fall and workouts in the spring. We are travelling to games all the way throughout New York, Connecticut, even a team from Ohio is coming down to play us here at home".
Coach Young could not be more excited for this program to officially start up, stating, "I am most excited to build a culture everyone can buy into. A progressive and productive culture."
When it comes to building the roster, Young has already started recruiting and offering players around the country. When asked about the recruiting process, he responded, "It is fantastic. The recruiting has been awesome, and we've got a lot of positive feedback."
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The Dean Daily asked Coach Young what kind of identity he wants this team to have, and he said, "A sense of community, a real sisterhood. I want us to be tough. I am giving the young ladies a chance to tell me and express what they believe the team should embody, and what our values should be".
And with the first information meeting coming up soon, Coach Young said, "Expect to learn about the day-to-day and the time commitment. I want people who have questions and want to bring their own ideas together. I want to see people who might only be semi-interested in flag football who just want to learn and give me a chance to build something. Hopefully we can work together and do something amazing."
Anyone interested in playing women's flag football at Dean, the information meeting is coming up on Monday, October 5th, starting at 5:30 PM in Room 11 of the Arthur W. Pierce Center for Science and Technology where Coach Young is looking forward to meeting his future team.
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