Q&A With Flag Team Coach, Niall Quinn

With the flag season starting soon, we caught up with Flag Team coach, Niall Quinn to talk about the 2015/16 season and preparation for the upcoming season, Emerald Bowl III.

Emerald Bowl II was a great accomplishment for the club, did you think that you could win it all before the season started?
"During the regular season, we faced two rookie teams to the sport, in our division. Although they provided tough opposition, we felt that winning the division was an achievable goal. Once we made the playoffs, we thought we would struggle against other division winners in the playoffs – but that turned out not to be the case."
 
Success in the Emerald Bowl brought the opportunity to compete in Denmark, tell us about your experience at the Champions Bowl.
"The Champions Bowl was a fantastic experience for the whole team. Essentially, we play flag for fun and really enjoy the games win or lose. So the chance to play flag football in Copenhagen against the best in Europe was an exciting challenge. We weren’t expecting any success but learned a lot and really enjoyed the opportunity to play at European level."

The season is set to start on 22nd October, how is the team looking for the upcoming season?
"It’s hard to say how our season will go until our first game. It’s important everyone continues to train as much as possible and be prepared the best we can. We have a tough division that will be a challenge to win. We will have fun anyway, winning always adds to that."

Flag is a great way of playing American football without the contact, focusing more on speed and skill. What advice would you have to anyone thinking of starting to play flag?
"Flag football is a great way to start American football. It teaches you the basic fundamentals of the sport and gives a great boost to players’ confidence. It’s a great team sport where every player has their job to do. As many training sessions as possible is a must for newcomers to prepare for their first game in a very fast and exciting sport."
 
The flag team is open to both males and females over the age of 16, and we are still recruiting! Check out our Flag Team page for more info and contact us on Facebook to start playing!