Zionsville Unified Flag Football kicks off season

While the scoreboard didn't read in their favor at the end of the game, you wouldn't be able to tell it looking on the faces on the Zionsville Unified Flag Football team on Monday night when they took on Fishers in the season opener. After weeks of preparation, and some untimely weather pushing back the original start date, the Eagles were finally able to hit the field for their season. "There's been some scorchers, and we have had to cancel a few practices, but I was glad that we were able to get out here today and we are looking forward to the season," Zionsville head coach Andy Slack said. Slack has been the coach for the Unified team for five years, and has seen the program grow every year. His first year, Zionsville struggled to get a team together. Now they have nearly 30 players and are seeing the interest continue to grow. "Literally every single year it has grown," Slack said. "The interest in it just continues to grow. The support from the staff and the administration continues to grow, and it's been an incredible thing." Slack said one of the great things is seeing players continue to come out every year, and have them encourage the underclassmen to come out. While the bulk of the Eagles are juniors and seniors, they have four freshmen and a couple sophomores out for the team. "It's great it, and it's so fun to have options for everybody and be able to include everybody," senior Ella Wells said. "It's great to have something that is a great sport to play and a lot of fun." Wells, and classmate Isaac Liddicoat, play both flag football in the fall and compete in track and field in the spring. Liddicoat said that he stays active throughout the year by practicing with his dad every day outside of the team practices, and that he was eager to get the season started. "It's amazing, I have been so excited, senior Isaac Liddicoat said. "We have been practicing three days a week. I love being out here with my friends and it's great." This is the 10th year that Unified Flag Football has been a sanctioned sport within the IHSAA, in conjunction with Special Olympics Indiana. Last year, 46 schools competed in flag football, with 98 participating in track and field in the spring. Some schools, Zionsville included, also work to have other opportunities such as basketball games in the winter. Both players said that one of the things that makes Zionsville such a great Unified school is that the focus is on the experience of the student athletes, not the scoreboard. "It's such a great time to come out here," Wells said. "It's nice outside and it's great to just hang out with all our friends, win or lose." Slack said that he, and track and field coach Spencer Cassin, have been focused on the experience of the players. "The catchphrase for the district has been, 'everyone belongs here,' and it's nice to see them really put that into action," Slack said. "Getting behind Unified sports, whether it's football, track, the basketball games we do, it's all great." Slack said he hopes to see the sport continue to grow at Zionsville and across the state to provide more opportunities for student athletes. And that if any student or school was on the fence about participating, he encouraged them to make that leap. "Just go for it," Slack said. "Every year will get bigger and better. Our program started extremely small - I couldn't even field a team at times. Now I've got more players than I could have ever hoped for or imagined. It's been fantastic."