With a bigger roster than expected, the unified flag football season is off to an explosive start.

With more participants, coaches are excited to play more games and expand their season’s length.

“We have over 30 athletes interested at the call-out meeting. We are excited to have such a big interest. We added a competition and are looking forward to expanding our schedule,” Coach Annie Ginn said.

Unified football will have plenty of games playing at Woodmen Stadium.

“Our first four competitions are at home. We would love to have a huge student body presence in the crowd to cheer us on,” Coach Ginn said.

Coach Ginn has no shortage of coaching experience.

“This is my second season coaching flag football. I previously coached girls and boys swimming at GHS,” she said.

The team is composed of student athletes from the Special Education Department and any other student interested in the sport. Senior Khup Thang explained the purpose of the sport.

“To have fun and be a team together,” he said.

Practices started Aug. 13 after school, and after the first practice, the season was off to a quick start with games planned for early September.

“Most of our practices are in the SAC or the AUX and last around an hour. if it’s nice out we’ll go to the field. We work on flag pulling, learning new plays, and throwing the ball around,” sophomore Lillian Williams said.

Unified football is a season of fun and competition, and as any sport, it is a great learning experience.

“Before joining, I knew nothing about football. It has also taught me how to work with students who have disabilities,” Williams said.