FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. — A group of young athletes and their head coach from Fresno County are making history on the national stage.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County’s first-ever NFL FLAG All-Star team is competing at the NFL FLAG Championships in Westfield, Indiana, after earning its spot with a regional championship victory.
The seven athletes, representing the Central Valley, are competing against some of the best youth flag football teams in the country at Grand Park Sports Campus, one of the nation’s largest youth sports venues.
For the players, the experience has already become unforgettable.
“We’re having the best times of our lives,” the players said.
Head coach Ron Zisler, director of operations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County, says seeing the team reach this level has been an incredible accomplishment.
“To be here at a national NFL flag football tournament is an amazing experience that they’ll never forget,” Zisler said.
The NFL FLAG Championships bring together more than 350 teams from across the country and around the world, including teams from countries such as New Zealand, China, Mexico and Ireland.
The Fresno County team is made up of players from the Boys & Girls Clubs in Selma and West Fresno.
“These kids didn’t know one another at all four months ago, and now they’re like a family. They’re all like brothers,” Zisler said.
Zisler says he couldn’t be prouder of his players. In less than five months, the team went from a brand-new group of athletes to competing on one of youth football’s biggest stages.
He says other teams at the tournament have been impressed by their journey.
“Every team that we’ve met, they’re like, ‘You guys have only been together five months?’ They can’t believe that we are here. It usually takes teams four or five years to get to this point,” Zisler said.
For many of the players, the trip has been filled with firsts, from getting on an airplane for the first time to traveling outside of California and competing at a national championship tournament.
The team was also introduced on ESPN’s main stage, where players were interviewed.
Zisler says the memories created during this experience will stay with the athletes long after the tournament ends.
“Everything we’re doing right now is the experience of a lifetime, and it’ll create memories that will last forever,” Zisler said.
The team began the tournament with pool play, facing three other teams to determine their ranking before advancing into the single-elimination rounds.
Regardless of the final result, Zisler says the experience has already been a victory for these young athletes and a proud moment for Fresno County.