GREAT FALLS — After just one year in operation, the Under The Lights youth flag football league in Great Falls is sending three teams to the world championships in Orlando, Fla., this February.
The Raiders, Colts and Steelers will represent the Electric City after a season of hard work by players, coaches, families and league organizers.
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George Fontanez, who runs the league with his wife Stacy, said much of that work happens long before the players take the field.
“There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work with myself and my wife,” Fontanez said. “A lot of late nights. On game nights, we’re not home until 10 or 11.”
That work includes setting up the fields hours before games and finding ways to make each game night feel like a community event. Now organizers are focused on helping the teams reach Orlando while keeping families’ out-of-pocket costs as low as possible.
“I believe in the community effort,” Fontanez said. “It takes a community to make something great.”
One of the athletes preparing for the trip is Avery Herrick, who is playing flag football for the first time. She has been in the sport for only two months and is the only girl on her team.
“It’s really great,” Herrick said. “It’s very surprising because this is my first year. I’m really excited.”
Her father, Jordan Herrick, said Avery had to convince him to let her play. Once she got on the field, though, she learned quickly.
“She begged me to play this year, and so I caved in,” he said. “Day 1, we show up to practice and she doesn’t know any of the names of the routes. She doesn’t know what a post is or a slant. By the end of practice, coach was able to set up just two cones on the field, and she knew exactly what she was supposed to run.”
Coach Josiah Mazaira has also been impressed by Avery’s dedication and work ethic.
“We plugged her in on the first day, and that’s been incredible to watch,” Mazaira said. “I’m pretty sure she could take over for me as offensive coordinator. Her dedication is insane. She’s out here on nights we don’t even have practice.”
Mazaira said that competitive drive extends across the team. When the players learned they had qualified for the trip to Florida, he said they were “jumping for joy.”
Avery Herrick’s team is one of three Great Falls teams headed to the championships, along with the 8U Steelers and 10U Colts.
Steelers coach Sean Barker said one of the biggest challenges is the financial commitment families must make to travel across the country.
“Getting the buy-in from families to make that choice is huge because it’s a big financial decision,” Barker said. “That is not an easy choice to make.”
The league is holding fundraisers to help offset travel expenses. Barker said the support from people willing to help send Great Falls athletes to Florida has been encouraging.
“Just seeing the number of people donating is awesome,” he said. “You’ve got people donating to send kids from Great Falls down to Florida to play flag football.”
More than anything, Barker wants his players to understand that they belong on the national stage.
“We’re in Great Falls, Montana, getting to go across the country and play on as big of a stage as the Under Armour Under the Lights tournament,” Barker said. “Getting to see them experience that is going to be awesome.”
