The experience was just as rewarding for the coaches as it was for the players. Coach Siegert explained that one of his favorite parts of the day was seeing the team’s “competitive spirit”.
On April 18th, the Potosi-Cassville girls traveled to the Don Hudson Center in Green Bay, where they competed against other Wisconsin high schools in flag football. The team roster consisted of seniors Manhattyn Udelhofen, Lillie Cooley, Ayva Yager, Madi Cooley, and Ryleigh Meier; juniors Kiara Hefty and Avery Decker; sophomore Emma Uppena; and freshmen Norah Post, Grace Eastlick, Rachel Vosberg, and Maddy Decker, as well as Cassville freshman Rylee Schmitz.
Despite having limited experience, the girls finished with a 1–2 record while competing against more experienced teams that have played in tournaments and past events in Green Bay.
Prior to April 18th, the team practiced, learning the basics of flag football. With only a handful of practices, not everyone was able to always make it, so the girls fully played together as a team for the first time in the Hudson Center.
Preparing for the event required flexibility and teamwork from both coaches and players. With limited practice time, the coaches focused on learning the rules and studying plays that worked on drills and teamwork. Siegert noted that installing a basic offense and defense without ever having the full team together at once was a challenge, but the girls adapted quickly and “grasped the concepts really well.”
While at the Don Hudson Center, the team met a couple of current and retired Green Bay Packer football players. Ryleigh Meier even stated her favorite part about going up to Green Bay was meeting Cooper Edgerrin, a current linebacker for the Packers. While every girl had a fun and memorable experience, the coaches were especially proud of the team’s growth and ability to compete against much larger schools after having very limited time to prepare.
Both coaches agreed that coaching girls' flag football was quite different from coaching the boys' PC football team. Unlike a regular football season that includes months of preparation, film study, and weekly practices, the girls’ flag football event was shorter, with only a few practices before game day.
Yet the coaches were impressed by how quickly the team improved. Siegert even mentioned that if PC ever sponsored girls' flag football in the future, the team’s performance showed that the program could be very successful.
Siegert commented that watching the girls represent their small schools and communities against schools nearly twenty times their size was inspiring, and that the team had “a ton to be proud of.” Coach Eastlick also highlighted the team’s growth, saying his favorite part was seeing the girls improve from the first game to the last while continuing to support each other, execute plays correctly, and, most importantly, have fun.
This experience not only shows the girls’ athletic abilities but also their willingness to step into something new and compete without hesitation.