With girls flag football returning for the first time since March 2020, only a few players remain from the 2019 team. The last time that the team played a full season, they exceeded expectations and advanced to the PSAL round of 16 playoffs. However, due to the two year gap, this season comes with many challenges and new faces. Players from the team spoke with The Classic, discussing team spirit as the team prepares to head towards the playoffs and how COVID-19 has affected their season so far.

Senior and quarterback of the team Rochelle Avezki commented on how the season has been going, saying, “It has definitely been very fun and I consider it a success as most of the team is pretty new to the sport, including myself.”

Sophomore Bella Kiliski elaborated on unity and team spirit. “It’s always so much fun and every single person on the team is amazing,” she said. “Mistakes are encouraged, everyone is so nice, and time flies so fast. It’s like a family and everyone contributes to the team.”

Rochelle discussed how the pandemic has affected the team, saying, “This season we mostly have players that are new to the sport, so we all had to learn the rules and skills for our positions very quickly.” 

Team members also mentioned the role that social media plays in team spirit. Freshman Isabella Romero described how the team’s Instagram account highlights their accomplishments, saying “Each post after a win is a way to show off our accomplishments as a team and how proud we are to represent Townsend Harris on the football field. All the team photos also show how close we are with each other and how the sport brings a smile to all of our faces.” 

Bella added on about the impact of supportive viewers, saying, “The people in the comments are always so supportive and encouraging, which is amazing and just makes us even more confident in our abilities.”

The team is confident about the rest of their season.“We are maintaining a record over .500 and we just secured a playoff spot, so we will keep working until the playoffs and beyond,” Rochelle said. 

Bella spoke positively about the Townsend Harris athletic community as a whole: “I highly recommend joining a school sport, it is a great way to make new friends and be more involved in the Townsend community.”

The team will begin their playoff run on May 24 against Tilden Education Campus.

Photo courtesy of Io Giannopoulou