With the help of the Seattle Seahawks and Nike, Mat-Su Sea Hawkers host flag football clinic in Wasilla

WASILLA — Each summer for nearly two decades, the Mat-Su Sea Hawkers have hosted youth from across the Valley for a day fun and exercise. This year, with the help of the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks and Nike, the Sea Hawkers’ old tradition entered a new era.

More than 100 boys and girls participated in a flag football clinic Friday, July 7 at the Menard Sports Center in Wasilla.

Prior to this year, the Sea Hawkers’ annual youth event in the Valley centered around the NFL’s Play 60 program, an initiative that promotes daily activity for children, and at least 60 minutes of exercise per day. The event would feature a variety of activities, ranging from football to floor hockey to Native Youth Olympics.

The focus Friday was on flag football.

“Flag football is the up-and-coming thing for kids, particularly in schools,” Mat-Su Sea Hawkers president Tom Spindler said. “They wanted to get in here and get this camp going for kids, start getting a preview for skills and safety and what things are different about flag football versus just playing football.”

The “they” Spindler is referring to is the Seattle Seahawks organization.

“Play 60 is still an important initiative for us — get kids to play 60 minutes per day — but last year we launched, down in the state of Washington, a flag football league,” Becca Stout, Seahawks managing director of community engagement, said during the event.

Stout said there are about 6,500 kids playing in the flag football league in Washington.

“We want to try to do more of these flag football camps,” Stout said.

The Seahawks have already hosted camps in places such as Germany and Canada.

Now Alaska. And the Seahawks brought a partner along to help host and sponsor the event in Wasilla.

“When we were mapping out everything we wanted to do in Alaska we knew we needed to call our friends at Nike and have them help us do a flag football camp,” Stout said. “They are such an incredible partner of ours, but really an incredible community partner. They have similar values with us, getting anyone and everyone to play the game of football.”

The event Friday comes just weeks before sanctioned girls flag football will be played in the Mat-Su at the high school level for the first time. That new era begins with the 2023-24 school year.

On the Menard turf on Friday, more than 100 boys and girls split into groups and rotated among stations which focused on skills and technique. More than a dozen coaches from the Mat-Su and Anchorage areas worked with the participants.

“That’s what I love about football, the continual giving back to the community. It’s so great to have the coaches there,” Stout said.

Seahawks wide receiver Dareke Young and offensive lineman Abraham Lucas were also there, along with Blitz, the team’s mascot.

Stout said she is excited to see the Seahawks’ work with the Mat-Su Sea Hawkers continue to grow.

“They are one of the greatest Sea Hawkers chapters in the world, honestly,” Stout said. “They raised more money last year than any other Sea Hawkers chapter. We have had a great relationship up here for a really long time and love coming up here every single year.”

Spindler said it has been “mind-blowing” to have the Seahawks and Nike sponsor and help host the camp.

“They’re liking what they are seeing. They’re already talking about coming back here next year and making it a bigger event,” Spindler said.

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