Valley Prep Flag Football Gets off to Rough Start
Valley Prep is one of the premier private schools in MS. Their academics are top notch. It’s a very expensive and exclusive school, and they have very stringent admission requirements. They send multiple kids to Ivy League schools and some of the top universities in the country each year. Their athletic programs are a bit lacking though.
Valley Prep has a small enrollment, so numbers for football has always been an issue. In addition to low numbers, losing has been an issue for Valley Prep football too. They have won only one game in the past 3 seasons. This spring, the injury bug hit the program, and they lost 7 players to injury. A few of the players were not going to be ready to play this fall. After the past few years and the fact this fall was going to be a struggle, Valley Prep shut their football program down late this spring.
Coach Lane Freeze and many of the players were heartbroken about the program being shut down. Coach Freeze approached the administration the week after the program was shut down about starting a flag football program. He had already talked with most of the players, and they were on board. The administration thought it was a good idea, and they gave Coach Freeze the go ahead to start the program with only one caveat. If the first season goes well, he has to start a girls program too.
Coach Freeze said, “I had to do something or I was going to be out of a job. I probably could’ve coached girls junior high basketball or volleyball, but I’d rather dig ditches wearing a ski jacket in Saudi Arabia in August. Flag football is going to be a much better fit for our guys. We’re not very fast, athletic, or physical, so the flag game is a much more natural fit.”
Currently, there are no other flag football programs in the state and The Valley besides Valley Prep. But, Coach Freeze was able to schedule 6 games with other schools, and those schools will use their normal football players. Freeze said, “We were ahead of the curve like usual. Flag football is growing; it’s going to be in the Olympics in 2028. So, I think you’ll see more schools add it to their athletic programs.”
Unfortunately, Valley Prep’s flag football season has started like football seasons in the past. They’re now 0-3 with 3 games left to play. Freeze said, “It’s been a tough start to the season, but these kids are fighting hard. These kids are learning to face adversity head on. I tell them that everyone faces adversity, but it’s all about how you handle it. It’s about attitude and the power of positive thinking. Of course, I don’t tell them the truth. We’re not going to win because we’re not any good; we’re small, slow, and not athletic.”
There has been mixed opinions among Valley Prep parents and fans. One player’s father said, “Honestly, I hate this flag football crap. Valley Prep had a good opportunity to instill mental and physical toughness into these kids by continuing normal football, but they just basically quit when things got hard. It’s just pathetic. This would’ve never happened when I was growing up. If we had only 11, we would’ve played with 11. This is what’s wrong with America; when things get hard, we just lay down and quit. The real men need to stand up!”
I talked with another player’s mom. She said, “I was excited when I found out they were switching to flag football. Now, I really don’t have to worry about my son getting injured. Plus, the whole atmosphere around normal football just wreaks of toxic masculinity, and I don’t want my son to exude that. I hope they never to go back to normal football.”
We’ll see if Valley Prep can manage to get a win, but it looks bleak right now. It’ll be interesting to see if other schools start flag football programs as the popularity grows. The Olympics in 2028 could be the catalyst to get it going. We’ll see.