Our numbers are increasing and we have more kids in our flag football program than we’ve ever had before. We have a good mixture of boys and girls competing with each other.”

Johnny Gonzales

ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Junior Tackle flag football program is about more than just the action on the field. While the program teaches the fundamental skills needed to play the game, children also learn and develop valuable life skills including teamwork, friendship and more.

There are 185 children ranging from preschool through fourth grade participating in flag football this fall. Co-coordinator Johnny Gonzales said that the program has increased its number by 20 from last year, the most he’s seen since becoming a coordinator five years ago. The program features three divisions including the NFL League (third and fourth-graders), the College League (first and second-graders) and the Arena League (preschoolers and kindergarteners).

“It’s been a great experience for the kids and it’s exciting to watch them grow,” Gonzales said. “Our numbers are increasing and we have more kids in our flag football program than we’ve ever had before. We have a good mixture of boys and girls competing with each other. Seeing how far the kids come in each of the different leagues from their first day… It’s so nice to see. We have a lot of volunteer coaches who put a lot of time into working with these kids.”

Games are held every Tuesday and Wednesday evening at the Helms Park football field during the season, which spans eight total weeks throughout August and September before concluding with the NFL League tournament in October. Practices are held during the week at Rochelle Middle School, where coaches and players work together on sharpening foundational football skills including handoffs, running, blocking, passing, catching, teamwork and more. 

“The kids learn how to compete, particularly in the NFL League where they’re a little bigger and older and they’re starting to understand the differences between winning and losing,” said Gonzales, who co-coordinates the flag football program alongside Jake Messer. “It’s part of the process of being successful… The kids learn about themselves and they learn how to grow, develop and overcome adversity. In the younger leagues, our kids learn about teamwork. There are so many things our kids learn during flag football that translate over to regular life.”

The flag football program serves as a precursor to the tackle football program for fifth through eighth-graders and eventually the Rochelle Township High School football program. Gonzales said that most skills learned at the flag football level, including pulling flags and learning new positions, are seen in a different way once those children move up to the tackle football level.

“Pulling flags transitions into tackling and the kids learn how they can get to the ball carrier,” Gonzales said. “The kids are put in defensive positions that carry over to tackle football and on offense, the kids learn how to block and move the football from the center to the quarterback and then the running back…. We had 28 fourth-graders playing flag football last year and right now, we have 23 fifth-graders playing tackle football, which is a small drop from year-to-year.”

In addition to serving as co-coordinator of the flag football program, Gonzales also coaches and sees the development from his own children, many of which have gone through the program. Gonzales’ daughter Jaelyn has gone through the flag football program and his son Xander, who’s in fourth grade, has been in the flag football program since he was a preschooler.

“I’m super excited and I know I can speak for all of the fourth-grade parents when I say that these kids have competed against each other for the last four or five years, but they’re ready to become teammates in fifth grade,” Gonzales said. “We have some great competition out here and it’s a great environment for these kids. It’s so fun to see the kids compete against their friends knowing that they’ll eventually become teammates when they’re in fifth grade.”