Flag Football regulations are changing, and at Shadow Ridge High School this means the Lady Mustangs will need to adapt. Players, coaches, and parents are all talking about how the rules will affect the new upcoming season and what these changes will do for the future of the sport.

One of the biggest changes being made is how contact will be handled. In flag football, players are supposed to avoid tackling, although regardless, it still happens, whether it be on purpose or on accident. The new rules are trying to cut down on unnecessary roughness. If someone lowers their shoulder or makes too much contact, there will now be stricter penalties. 

Sophomore Rosley Hensley Mokiao stated,  “I think it’s a good change because sometimes the games get too rough, and it stops feeling like flag football.”

Another change being made is timing. The new rules are adding a quicker play clock so that the game will be advanced faster. What this does is eliminate the amount of time that teams will have to call sets, so the game will be more intense, fans will be able to feel the pressure the athletes are going through. 

Coach Dubois said, “The new timing rule will definitely make the game quicker. It’s going to get our players to think quicker, but I believe that it will make them better players overall.”

There are new rules concerning uniforms and equipment as well. All players must have their flags up at all times, and if the flags fall off before the play begins, then the player is disqualified for that specific play. This is intended to make the game more fair and avoid any type of  misunderstandings during plays.

Senior Sarah Ruiz said, “It makes sense, sometimes the flags become detached too easily, and it ruins the game.”

The students and spectators believe this will make everything more balanced overall.

At Shadow Ridge, students seem to question how such changes will affect the upcoming season. Some believe that the new rules will make the game more complicated, while others believe that they will make it more intense to watch and play. Flag football is getting increasingly popular among all schools and even creating opportunities at professional levels and the opportunity for players to play Division I colleges. The rules are being altered so that the sport can become more official and safer.

While change is hard, the majority of the players at Shadow Ridge are ready to adapt. Once practices start they will have already started implementing drills that will get the team adjusted to the quicker pace and stricter penalties. With the season getting closer, excitement is building, and the team can’t wait to show everyone that they are capable of making changes while still playing their best.