Three Eden Prairie High School sophomores – Maleah Holloway, Cadence Mix and Cayden Zaccardi Ware – represented their school March 30 at a girls flag football media day hosted by the Minnesota Vikings at the Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO) Performance Center in Eagan. All three are members of the Eagles’ varsity team.
They were joined by Allie Happel, Eden Prairie’s varsity assistant coach, and Liza Anderson, junior varsity coach. During the event, the players and coaches posed for a photo with Vikings players Harrison Phillips and C.J. Ham, who were among several special guests celebrating the sport’s rapid growth in Minnesota.
Organized to promote the upcoming high school flag football season, the media day featured team photos, media interviews, and a chance for student-athletes to meet NFL players as part of a broader initiative to elevate the sport.
The Eden Prairie flag football program – which began this spring as a school club – is part of a push by the NFL and Vikings to expand girls flag football to all 50 states as a varsity-level sport. Uniforms and coaching stipends have been funded by grants through the initiative.
The March 30 media event followed a preseason clinic held March 3 at the EPHS dome, where about 20 girls trained with coaches and learned the fundamentals of the sport.
“I love being able to pass on the knowledge and skills of flag football,” Happel said during the clinic.
Eden Prairie will compete in the Purple Division of District 4, with an eight-game regular season kicking off April 27. Games are played five-on-five, with two 20-minute halves and a running clock, except for the final two minutes of each half. A state tournament will be held in June at the same TCO Performance Center where media day took place.
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