Flag Football

KOLOA — “I hope it rains when we play,” the Lihu‘e Patriots’ Bobcat players said as they watched the ongoing game from the shelter of one of the many canopies that popped up at the Anne Knudsen Park in Koloa for the Saturday KPAL (Kaua‘i Police Activities League) flag football.

One of the coaches lamented that the players are going all-out in the rain, but come tomorrow, they’ll succumb to the cold bug, and next week, the sun will probably come out and the players won’t be able to play.

The rains came down incessantly, but the games went on, one grandparent using a cell phone to try and see if the games had been cancelled on account of the heavy morning deluge.

The seemingly unending deluge posed another problem for the coaches who noted that they would probably have to forego the usual pre-game warmups and go right into the game to keep the players from getting wet more than necessary.

Squeals of delight pierced the morning obscured by the falling water as cheer squads, performing under the shelter of canopies, tried to elude sheets of water that had collected on the roofs and needed to be emptied.

More cell phone calls as coaches were being contacted by other members of the team who were unable to locate their sites due to everyone being huddled under canopies.

The cheer squads are a new facet of the flag football program, and like their football player counterparts, many braved the weather to come out to show their support.

Over 600 children are registered to participate in three age groups in the flag football programs with games taking place on Saturdays, each weekend relocating to a different site.

Commissioner Leon Gonzalves said the aim of the program is the make better use of the parks rather than just hold the games at the stadiums. To this end, Saturday’s games took place in Koloa at the county’s Anne Knudsen Park, and there are games on the schedule that will utilize the facilities at the New Kapa‘a Ball Park located across the Kapa‘a Armory.

For those who clamour for official results, the program’s primary aim is to provide an environment where players are able to develop and hone their skills rather than focus on the final score. To further reinforce this philosophy, coaches cheer on accomplishments by their own as well as opposing players.

Weekend games are scheduled from 8 a.m. and run through most of the day.

As for the Lihu‘e player who was relishing the thought of playing in the rain, that probably did not happen as officials finally called off the remainder of the games due to the inclement weather.