School's flag footballers to compete for US trip

A primary school's flag football team is on cloud nine after being selected to compete against some of the best teams in the country.

The youngsters from Woodlands Primary Academy in Bradwell, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, won the regional NFL Flag Tournament in Cambridge.

Christopher Holmes, a PE instructor at the school, said the sport - a non contact version of American football - had been on the curriculum for the past 10 years, but he was keen for more people to take it up so it can continue to grow.

"American football is really at its core a team sport," he said. "Every player on the team has a really important role, and without a person doing their job the team will fall apart."

Flag football dates back to the 1940s when it was played by US military personnel during World War Two.

It is a limited contact sport which involves removing a flag or flag-belt from the ball carrier to end a down <remove>, to win possession - instead of tackling players to the ground.

It is one of the world's fastest-growing sports and will make its debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

One of the players Hugo, said the team was not at its best in the first game in Cambridge on 1 May, but they remained positive and bounced back.

"[Mr Holmes] said lots of positive things and how we could play as we usually would," he said.

"We are a brilliant team and I knew we could win - we definitely had a chance."

Coach Holmes, as the children know him, said he was proud of the team and the hard work and determination they had put in all year.

"When you consider outside of school none of them has ever played before, they didn't know the rules, they didn't know how to play, the level they have now been able to reach is astonishing," he said.

Thanks to the win in Cambridge, the team will now travel to Manchester to compete against the best schools in the country.

The winners will be out to the United States to represent Great Britain.

"We know the standard is going to be sky high with lots of players who play on a regular basis, but we are there to do the best we can," Coach Holmes said.

"Ultimately, the experience of going there is a reward in itself."

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