Coach aims to bring girls' flag football to Valley

WASILLA — Earlier this month, dozens of girls hit Wasilla High’s Veterans Memorial Field for the school’s annual powder puff girls’ flag football games.

It’s a homecoming tradition that’s typically popular with both participants and fans. But for some, one week of powder puff isn’t quite enough and there’s another call for girls’ flag football in the Mat-Su Valley.

“A lot of girls have wanted to play for a long time,” Wasilla senior Ashlyn Frizzelle said recently. “We’ve been asking or someone to get this going.”

Once again, a longtime local coach is trying to make that happen. Chuck Pfeifer, who has coached football of the boys’ variety on the youth and prep level, has restarted his effort to bring girls’ flag football to the Mat-Su.

Pfiefer has worked more than two years to bring a sport to the Valley that has become popular in the Anchorage area. Although his efforts have been unsuccessful, a week of coaching the Wasilla High juniors during powder puff week sparked his interest once again.

“They have a blast,” Pfeifer said of the players. “They wish they had more than one game.”

Later this year, Pfiefer will try give those girls more than just one game. Pfeifer has teamed with the Mat-Su Youth Football Association to host a girls’ flag football tournament. Dec. 27-29 at the Curtis D. Menard II Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla.

Pfeifer said there is a large contingent of Wasilla High girls eager to play and he’s working to round up students from other high schools in the Valley.

Wasilla junior Nikki Vanni would also like the chance to play flag football.

“It’s something different for the girls,” Vanni said.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.