City taking sign ups for NFL-affiliated flag football league

The National Football League will be coming to Trumann this fall.

Sort of.

Trumann Parks and Recreation is taking sign-ups for a new NFL flag football league which will be played at the Trumann Sports Complex beginning Aug. 28.

"It's an actual NFL youth football program," said Parks and Recreation director Brandon Shrader. "We're one of the first ones in Northeast Arkansas to have this."

The program, which was started by the NFL in 1996, is open to boys and girls ages 5-17 and is a non-contact version of football. Players learn about football and good sportsmanship and participation.

Shrader said he was looking to expand the summer and fall youth programs in Trumann and heard good things about flag football from other communities.

"I called some of the parks and rec directors over in Fort Smith and the Benton area and they gave me the idea," Shrader said. "The NFL league is kind of the gold standard in flag football. It's a great program. It's got a great rule book that you can look up on line."

The program costs $35 per child and will run for 10 weeks.

Each child will get an actual NFL jersey with a team logo. The NFL also provides the flags and the footballs.

Shrader said he plans to open the league up to cities other than Trumann.

"We're going to be playing all of the games here in Trumann," Shrader said. "But I will be talking to Marked Tree, Harrisburg, Bay and Jonesboro as well."

Shrader said flag football will be a nice complement to all of the other youth sports activities the city has planned.

Registration for soccer was held last week for children five and up and Shrader said he's already working on starting a kickball program as well as a men's softball league separate from the church league and eventually an adult flag football league.

"I'm not trying to compete with soccer," Shrader said. "I wanted to give those who don't want to play soccer a chance to play something else."

So far, the buzz surrounding the new programs has been very positive, he said.

"The people I have talked to all seem excited," Shrader said. "We've had a couple of board meetings to talk about it and I think it is really going to take off. There is going to be a lot going on in August, which is great. I'm super excited. I think it's going to be big."

More information can be obtained by calling 483-1098 or emailing shraderb.trumannparks@gmail.com or by visiting www.eteamz.com/TrumannParksRecreation. More information on NFL flag football visit www.NFLyouthfootball.com.