Do Athletes Have to Catch Balls?

Hohl proves her place on Flag Football Team, gains friends

By Megan Hutchinson, For The Mountain Times

“I should learn to catch the ball with my hands instead of my head,” rising senior Madeline Hohl laughed. Hohl struggled with catching the football all season. However, Hohl's other strengths made up for this lack, as she was undefeated all season, becoming a league champion. 

Hohl is a player on the Sandy High School flag-football team. The program only began this year, and Hohl was immediately excited. “Originally, it was just like a fun club. I wanted to get exercise and thought it sounded like a fun way to make friends and be a part of a team,” Hohl said. As the season progressed, Hohl realized how much the sport meant to her. “I feel like I gained a lot of friends and have common things to talk about with people now. I’m a part of something new.” 

Hohl was selected Defensive Player of the Year by her coaches, something she is very proud of. She notes that trust is important on defense, a concept she struggled with in the beginning of the season. “I’m a very do-it-myself kind of person. I had to learn to trust that other people would get the job done on their side of the field, so I could stay and do my job on my side,” Hohl said. Her trust in her teammates grew immensely through the season, partially because of how close they became.

“Everyone was super nice and supportive of each other. We didn’t really ever get down because we basically won every game,” Hohl said. Her team was undefeated 12-0 for all of their main season games. The team then went to the playoffs, where they faced their first loss. “Even in the end when we lost, everyone was supportive of each other. We were on the field having fun.” 

With the success the Hohl and her team had on the field, it’s surprising to learn that it was Sandy’s first year. “It’s almost hard to set goals for next year because I was so surprised at how well we did… I felt like we were really strong, especially for our first year.” 

Despite Hohl’s success on the Varsity team, she was almost placed on Junior Varsity. When teams were announced, several players, including Hohl, were told their placements were undecided. 

“After tryouts I was like, ‘well I’m not good enough’. I asked the coaches what I should do to prove myself, and they said to ‘just come to practice’,” Hohl recalls. Hohl did that and worked especially hard to prove she deserved a spot on Varsity. 

When she was later offered a place on Varsity, Hohl was told she might not play very often. 

Hohl thought, “If I'm going to actually play, I need to work hard, show up to practices on time, and be respectful. I have to show that I want to be in the program.” She spent her season as a starter on both offense and defense, proving to herself and her coaches that Hohl playing on Varsity was a good decision.

Hohl will have a busy year coming up as she manages her time as Co-Editor-in-Chief of her school paper, Managing Editor of yearbook, President of NHS, and Vice President of Key Club. However, her mass of extracurriculars will not stop her from pursuing flag football. She is attending a flag-football camp over the summer and will be running often to increase her speed. Hohl plans to spend the rest of her summer break remembering her coach’s words “Be content. Never be satisfied.”

She will, additionally, practice catching the football with her hands.