By Annie Goodykoontz

In the past, middle school students have gathered at the field in the southwest corner of the Tempe Prep campus to play flag football during paideia and have a good time. However, once construction began on the new building, the field went away.

Flag football hasn’t. Rather than let a fun tradition die, Mr. Lambros decided to move it to Meyer Park and Hollis Park after school on Mondays and Wednesdays. So the tradition continues.

Austin Sampson, an eighth grader at Tempe Prep, participates in this program. He says, “It gives chances for new-at-football kids to play, and for others to learn more things. Football is a love of mine and it gives others a chance to love it, too.”

The kids play against each other, not against other schools. But there is a lot of interest; there are usually about 10 or 15 kids there to play, Sampson says. Mr. Lambros says, “It is not an official Tempe Prep ‘sport,’ if you will. I just thought it would be fun to get something going after school a couple days a week.”

Since it is not a formal sport, anyone can play flag football. All you have to do is show up. This is a great way to get an introduction to football if you have been wanting to play.