SUMMER2014
17
flag fOOtball anD self esteeM
When the only equipment kids wear is a flag belt, and
there is no contact, the game is based on athleticism.
"It takes a super athletic move to de-flag another kid,"
says Jeff.
As kids get older and more comfortable with
aggressive play, they can apply what they've learned in
flag football to tackle football.
"When they hit seventh or eighth grade, they pretty
much have all arrived–if they're going to. Now, they
understand the game, they've honed their athletic
skills and, because of that, they can put a uniform
on. There's a little learning curve with tackle, but they
already know the game, and they already have the
athleticism and the moves, so that's a much better
way to approach coaching, in my opinion, having
coached tackle football for 17 years."
The American Instructional Football League teaches
kids to play football, but it does something else. It
gives them positive self-esteem.
"Parents and educators and even government officials
will use the phrase, 'self-esteem,' and yet, I believe,
they seldom know what they're actually saying. If you
were to ask somebody, 'What is self-esteem?' the
answer you'll almost invariably get back is, 'It's how you
feel about yourself,' and it's not. That's the conclusion
of self-esteem–that doesn't explain self-esteem at
all, because you can have healthy, or you can have
poor self-esteem. So when you ask people, 'What is
