On Saturday, educators from Northeast Ohio converged on the Cleveland Browns Training Facility for an NFL Flag Football Clinic hosted by the Cleveland Browns.
Designed for elementary and middle school P.E. teachers, the free clinic provided educational resources to implement NFL Flag into their respective P.E. curriculum. The day began with a 30-minute introduction to NFL Flag from SHAPE America Trainer, Ellen Abbadessa, M.Ed. out of Phoenix, Arizona. The in-class lesson included an overview of the P.E. curriculum, basic rules and teaching points for all skills listed in the curriculum, which included:
• Flag Pulling
• Securing the football AND how to receive a handoff
• Gripping the football
• How to throw a football
• Catching a football
After the in-class lesson, the teachers walked the same halls of their favorite Browns players and proceeded to the Casey Coleman Field House for their on-field training. Teachers received a breakdown of the 10-week lesson plan and ran through numerous drills, including throwing and receiving, flag tag, team touchdown, angle of pursuit, ball carrying, small-sided game play and much more.
"The NFL Flag curriculum was created by the NFL -- in collaboration with SHAPE America -- to provide elementary and middle school students with the skills and knowledge necessary to play Flag Football," Abbadessa said. "The curriculum is standards-based and helps students acquire the skills of throwing, catching, kicking, punting, as well as offensive and defensive strategies for game play. The goal of NFL Flag is to help students accumulate 60 minutes or more of physical activity daily, which is part of the NFL Play 60 commitment to the health and well-being of our youth of America."
With the clinic coming to an end, the teachers put their newly learned skills to the test and strapped up for some live game action. The teachers did not waste any time showing off their skills as the action was fast and competitive.
To learn more about NFL Flag visit www.nflflag.com.
