This past October 19th marked the end of the beginning of a new stone turned over for the girl’s athletic program at Glenbard West. This fall, our school honored the debut of the new Girl’s Flag Football team! Led by Head Coach Stephanie Brezwyn and Assistant Coach Jon Schweighart, the girls are off to a very promising beginning. But beyond just impressive winning streaks, they have laid the groundwork for the future of this sport, and it’s sure this particular season will be one to remember for years to come.
Glenbard West rarely has areas we lack success in, and this season is a perfect display of that. The team has earned bragging rights, with a concluding season record of 13-0. The season started out slower, typically with one game a week, and then picked up to competing in one or two games a week. As the season picked up, they still held their ground, and maintained an undefeated streak. But, this season would not be possible without a process to get the sport’s approval.
Coach Brezwyn narrates that the process first began with the Illinois High School Association, also known as IHSA, “deeming [flag football] an IHSA-sanctioned sport”. With this go-ahead, the next step was to take the idea of a team to the district for signature of approval. The authorization from the district was then confirmed, and permission was granted to each of the Glenbard schools to form a team of their own. The teams are technically deemed a club sport, “in hopes of gaining interest and getting popularity”, in order to fully transform into an IHSA sport in upcoming years. Although the team is not participating in formal playoffs this year, on November 19th, a District 87 tournament is being held, competing against the other three Glenbard teams, known as the “Battle of the Glenbards”. It is sure they will make us proud and play their hardest.
The depth of the team’s spirit also runs to the same extent, if not further than their dominance against their opponents. A few memorable moments for the team are included in gameplay, but moving beyond gameplay as well. A lot of team bonding has ensured “close friendships” to form throughout the year, with lots of passing time and expanding to doing new things together. Regarding gameplay, the team is able to witness a lot of first moments that cause a lot of thrills, unique to this sport. For example, the team had a make or break moment against a team where two Pick 6s, (when a player intercepts the ball and runs to a touchdown), reversed the tide of the game in favor of the Hilltoppers. A move like this was critical to take the win. Elaborating on the moments off the field, there was a very valued memory shared by the team following their first game against Hinsdale Central. They took a strong win, with the score being 21-6. To honor and celebrate this feat, one of the three team captains, Mya Austin (captains also including Leah Fenske and Sophia Fanella), shares the story of how they were able to all sign a football, and give it to our school principal, Ben Peterselli. This was obviously a very important milestone for the development of the program, so something tangible to associate the game with “really meant a lot to [the team],”. They also played their first home game on Duchon Field, on Tuesday, October 1st. They, again, took an overwhelming win, with the score resulting in 24-6. Following this, they were able to run up the back hill and ring the victory bell, which is an upholding habit that has been a part of the boy’s football tradition for as long as the bell has existed.
This season for the team has been one to remember, and considering the strength of only the first year, has so much growth to still pursue.
