We’re Sam and Lee Alford — twin brothers from Fort Worth, TX.

 

Or rather “Coach Sam” and “Coach Lee” to the 10-13 year-olds we’ve been coaching over the last several years in the West LA NFL Flag Football league (go Seahawks!) We have no children of our own, mind you — just a love of youth sports and a passion for flag football.

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And every practice, we'd get the same question: "Coach, can we scrimmage?"

Death, taxes, and being asked that question. Because even the best days of route-running and practicing plays can't hold a candle to the fun of a scrimmage -- it's football distilled down to its most joyous form. 

 

That kind of football has united us as brothers our entire lives. We share fond memories of rounding up neighborhood friends and passing entire Sunday afternoons playing football in the cul de sac -- drawing up double-reverses on shirts and debating which oak tree should be the back of the endzone. We didn't even require grass to be making the best memories of our childhood -- because we were playing just for the joy of the game. And simultaneously, we were actively learning what it means to be a good sport, to be a good teammate, to respect your opponents and the game -- all while having fun.

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This relationship to the game of football shaped us as people, as brothers, it shaped how we coach -- building a meaningful experience by establishing a culture on a specific set of values:

Fun, Fellowship, Positivity, Sportsmanship, & Inclusiveness.

And we're thrilled that it's led us to the origins of FlagConnect -- a new paradigm for football programming. An alternative to tackle football leagues and season-committed formats, we're introducing FlagConnect as a weekly 1hr session, facilitated by us, to play football the way the kids want: scrimmaging.

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Each 1-hour session will include a pair of "pick up" style scrimmages: The first is a classic scrimmage with familiar rules on a large field. And the second is "mini-game" style where 3- to 4- player teams compete in a flag-football scrimmage governed by a rotation of rules each week that range from unusual (i.e. one-handed catches earn double yards) to zany (i.e. 4th downs are played with a volleyball.)

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Unlike traditional season-based leagues, we are offering an ongoing weekly model -- Players are charged only for when they attend at a rate of $30 per session, and the first session is offered at no cost. We know summers get busy, so stop by when you’re in town, or make FlagConnect a fixed part of your week.

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We're looking forward to you joining us this summer. And when the kids ask, "Coach, can we scrimmage," we're thrilled to now answer that question with a resounding and permanent YES.

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