Crawford Architects

The BSM Girls Flag Football team are given the honor of playing at the Minnesota Vikings TCO stadium.

Offering a new and improved option for the women of Benilde-St. Margaret’s, coach Joe Creer founded and started up the girls flag football team, something that had never been done in BSM history.

With over 80 sign-ups thus far, the league is already thriving, despite the season not starting yet. Creer’s motive behind the start-up comes from the love he has for the sport but also the concerns he notices in the physicality of the game. Concussions and various other injuries can be a huge threat to the well-being of athletes and detrimental to their future mentally and physically. With flag football, a safer alternative, all the best aspects of the sport remain: teamwork, dedication, and school spirit. “All kids need to get outside and put down the phone and get away from the video games,” Creer said.

Senior Abby Urbaniak expresses her excitement to participate in her senior year. Looking to kick off her time as a Red Knight with a bang, Urbaniak looks forward to a low-key activity for the spring. “It’s a good, easy way to get involved in school… not everyone is up for being involved in something so time and energy consuming so this is strictly fun,” Urbaniak said.

The first year of any new club or sport is bound to come with ups and downs. Last school year, Creer started up this flag football program for the students in BSM’s junior high. Having some experience to go off of, Creer and the future participants feel excited and ready to take on the challenge of being the very first senior high team, regardless of any curve balls that will be thrown their way. “I think it’s a lot of trial and error and just kind of finding, like what works for us compared to other teams and just kind of developing a program for sure,” senior Abby Urbaniak said.

The girls are looking forward to both the game itself as well as the amenities they get to enjoy along the way. The Minnesota Vikings will be funding the entire program, including referees, coaches, uniforms, etc., making the experience feel real, fun, and unique in comparison to other sports options. “The championship will be at the TCO Stadium, where the Vikings play, and then we will compete against other schools, and whoever wins will represent the Vikings nationwide at other stadiums. And then we’ll get to play at the Hall of Fame Bowl,” Creer said.

This improvement in the variety of BSM athletics plans to skyrocket and continue to thrive over years and years. This opens up another opportunity for the female student body to compete and show their skills. The future of this program looks bright. “As long as I’ve been here, I always said that the girls are more competitive than the boys,” Creer said.