Another flag football season with the Salisbury Men’s Athletic Association wrapped up last weekend, celebrating the victories of players and coaches young and old.
The league has been around for about 25 years, its current president Dave Schwarz told the Herald, who has been running the program for the last 18. It operates not-for-profit and simply exists to provide its players a fun outlet during the fall, encouraging teamwork, friendships and a strong sense of community. About roughly 300 kids are part of the program annually, ranging from kindergarten to high school.
The season which kicks off in September culminates in a “Super Bowl” in late-November or early-December. This year, it concluded at East Meadow High School on Nov. 20. The Super Bowl featured a mini-ceremony, congratulating players for their efforts throughout the season. Many local elected officials stopped by to see the action and even toss a football or two.
Prices have remained the same for the last three seasons, Schwarz said, emphasizing the league’s commitment to low-cost fun. “We’re not here to make money,” he said.
The league thrives because of the longtime support of regulars — former players who come to back help out, either refereeing or coaching.
“Every single one of our refs either is a former player or a current player,” Schwarz said. “Most of our directors has a kid in the league, or two kids in the league. And some of our board members are actually in their 20s. They’re kids that played and coached and wanted to stay involved. They just want to give back.
“When I need coaches nowadays,” he added, “I’ll put it out there and I’ll get a couple guys to step up and coach, because they enjoyed playing.”
Board members include Ed Peters, Mike Villante, David Follick, Kole Castro, Tim Ferdinand, Ken Castro, Ken Barshauskas and Josh Hudson. League competition during the season takes place at elementary schools on each side of the East Meadow School District, ensuring that players from both East Meadow and Westbury can easily get involved. About 95 percent of all the league’s players attend East Meadow schools.
The league is co-ed, and this year it also had three women coaches — Mary Pelkowski, Janie Schettini and Greta Costella — which is great, Schwarz said. Over the next few years, the goal is to increase the number of girls playing in the league from about 5 percent to 10 percent, if not more.
In this season’s third- and fourth-grade division, the league had 10 teams participate, its largest number ever.
“That’s great,” Schwarz said. “If you’re going to be big, you want to be big at the younger ages because you hope they’re going to stay with you.”
Although it is a flag football league, it doesn’t discourage players from playing tackle football. The league has garnered support from East Meadow and W.T. Clarke High School’s varsity football coaches, who often provide words of support to the players at the Super Bowl.
Ken Rosner, superintendent of the East Meadow School District, has also been very supportive of the league, Schwarz added. From helping secure field permits to aiding the league in fixing issues on school grounds, his support, Schwarz explained, has been tremendous.
Throughout the season, teams compete only against other teams in the league. Every team makes the playoffs, from third-grade up, as a way to show players — especially the youngest ones — that hard work pays off. This season’s champions were the Chiefs in the third- and fourth-grade division; the Pats in the fifth- and sixth-grade division; the Cowboys in the seventh- and eighth-grade division; and the Eagles in the high school division.
