BILLINGS — For lack of a better term, Lockwood athletic director Mike Erickson has become the pseudo-commissioner of the burgeoning Montana high school flag football scene.
Now in its third season, thanks to funding from the owner of the Atlanta Falcons’ Arthur Blanks Foundation flag football in Montana has grown from three teams in Year 1 to five last year. And now 17 schools will field squads at this year’s state tournament, which begins Thursday in Bozeman on the Montana State University campus. (The championship game will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday under the lights in Bobcat Stadium.)
When there’s a rules question, or a jamboree needs to be set up, or an official is needed, Erickson has been there to answer the call. Literally. Lockwood High School is in its second year of putting a team on the field, and Erickson has seen just about everything already.
There have been tremendous growing pains, he said. But for all the right reasons. The sport, he said, is exploding, with eight to 10 more teams set to come onboard next year. And, he feels, a culture of cooperation is being created that Erickson hopes can be maintained and extended to the other longer-established sports in the state.
Erickson answered a few questions about flag football from MTN Sports’ Mike Scherting as the sport heads into its 17-team state tournament. Some answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: How did you become so embedded into flag football in Montana?
A: “I guess I've become the Montana liaison, kind of, with all teams. And I think the reason why was as the season got going this year, we had a lot of schools that were in the unknown, like even how to run an event, run a game, the rules. We have a rule book, which we didn't have last year. We have a rule book, but like all rule books, they're interpreted in so many different ways where after the first week of competition, I was getting bombarded with emails and texts from coaches around the area about rules. And so, I just kind of took it upon myself to make one blanket email and start sending all these clarifications out to everybody and try to bridge that gap of how the game is supposed to be played and try to create that understanding of what girls flag football really looks like.”
Q: The sport has grown so quickly. What are some of the growing pains that have accompanied that growth?
A: “Number one, athletes never even playing the game before. Number two, coaches never even seeing the game before, even coaching it. And what do they coach? How do they coach it? And then I would say, after two weeks into this season, with as many games that were going on in different venues, officials having never worked a game, and so they really didn't know the rules. On the officials’ side of it is we didn't have enough for girls flag football because they were already short in high school tackle football. You saw myself out there working a jamboree by myself just trying to teach and go as the game went on. So, the official side of it was a huge hurdle that we ran into and really didn't see coming.”
Q: Yeah, getting officials …
A: “I'll give you a fun example. There’s been numerous times referees are in the game and all of a sudden, I get a phone call as they're out there, and I'm reading the rule book to them while they're on their phone as they’re refereeing a game. And so, it’s just comical because that would not happen in any other thing I've ever been around, right? So, it's just been a lot of fun outside of your normal game preparation of what it would look like. Definitely ground zero, but I think we're moving in the right direction.”
Q: Given these situations, are you getting buy-in from everybody that this is all a work in progress?
A: “It is exploding so fast, and, yes, it's all for the right reasons. One thing I love about this is the mindset behind all of this right now is being competitive, but everybody is so patient. Coaches are patient. Officials are patient. Everybody's working together as a team and still trying to be as competitive as they can. It's almost, in my mind, a reality of what sports were originated for. I got to see at the very beginning of this sport how it can bring kids together, how it can bring communities together.
“Teams are getting beat 59-6, and the fans are still going crazy and rooting for their team. And it just brings a perspective that this is the reality of what sports should be like for our student-athletes. Still be competitive but be patient and understanding that things aren't always going to be like this. All the rules are not in place for us and known by the coaches or the officials, but we're working through those hurdles together, not against each other.”
Q: As the game continues to grow and become more competitive, how do you maintain that culture?
A: “In my mind, I think we can build that culture. This is what it should look like, right? I mean, this is the way we can get back on track to what our stands can act like and how we can treat fans of the opponents, officials, the coaches. I think this is a great way for ADs to go back and look at it and say, ‘why can't we do this for all sports? Why can't it be this way?’
“And so, I'm taking it in a different manner as an athletic director, to say, wow, it is possible. Right now, we have people signing up to be girls flag football officials only. In all the other sports officials numbers are dying because they don't want to be involved in the sport, right? We now have officials calling me up, saying, ‘How do I become just a girls flag football official? That's all I want to do.’ So, I see so many positive things that I think enlighten us all to understand what competition is all about.”
Q: Where do you think this sport is headed? It seems like it’s still an open book.
A: “I can tell you this … I can write the ending to this book: It's not going anywhere. It's here to stay. I mean, it's a powerful spark, what it's doing for these girls and what it's doing to our schools. I'll give you an example. Hardin called me up after they played their first game against Huntley Project, and they said our stands were packed. I called Poplar after their first home game; they said they had more people at that game than they've ever had in a (boys) football game for years, right? Wolf Point, Poplar and Dawson County play at Wolf Point, and there's people showing up early. They're sitting around and, I mean, they're coming to watch. It's a crazy feeling to see this sport being followed like it is, by their fans and even our student body. It’s just kind of a fun thing, but like anything new, I hope the nostalgia doesn't wear off, because it's pretty cool right now.”
Q: Do you like the independent path the sport is on with its outside funding, or will it inevitably become an MHSA sport?
A: “Once you get into how we use outsourced money in the state of Montana through athletics, that is a huge hurdle in many ways. And so, if we do sanction this (through the MHSA), the (Arthur Blank Foundation) funding will go away at some point. It’s not an expensive sport by any means. But (the foundation) is telling us they're never going away, which is nice. But how much do you want? How much do you want the bonus of being governed by the MHSA so that it's guys like me not having to run a whole program. Or do you want somebody doing that and governing this? And I think those are the decisions we’ve got to decide. I would say that's probably two to three years away of that, of what that looks like for the state of Montana.”
Q: Do you have two or three more years of being pseudo-commissioner in you?
A: (Laughs) “I'm enjoying every minute of it. I made a comment to the team from Absarokee when they came over and played. I told them I was so proud of them for, you know, coming out, getting over their nerves, never playing this sport before. And after the game, this girl looks at me, and she goes, ‘You know what? I was born to play football.’ And it's stories like that when the hard work goes away, the time and effort goes away when you're seeing kids have an opportunity to do a sport. Understand, this a sport that’s never been done before. I mean, girls can play (tackle) football but won’t get a lot of playing time most of the time. Now, they're in this sport that's so unique to them, that's so different than everything else. It just absolutely amazes me, and my time is nothing compared to the smiles on those girls’ faces when they go out and play.”
Girls Flag Football State Championship
When: Thursday and Friday.
Where: Montana State’s Bobcat Stadium (consolation games to be played on grass fields next to stadium).
Championship: Scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bobcat Stadium.
Teams involved: Absarokee, East Helena, Frazer, Glendive, Hamilton, Hardin, Huntley Project, Jefferson, Kalispell Flathead, Kalispell Glacier, Lockwood, Poplar, Roundup, St. Ignatius, Three Forks, Wolf Point.
