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RECREATION Flag football league holds first tournament for women's teams Comment By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat Posted Feb. 27, 2016 at 4:28 PM Updated Feb 27, 2016 at 6:39 PM By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat Posted Feb. 27, 2016 at 4:28 PM Updated Feb 27, 2016 at 6:39 PM » Social News The way Trish Walls sees it, football was the only sport she was kept away from. In high school, she'd play in the annual powder puff game but was otherwise kept to the sidelines as she watched her brother play. Today, some two decades after those powder puff games, Walls and her partner, Nick Davis of Medford, organize a flag football league that's expanded as far north as Salem after starting in Medford. She now plays quarterback on the women's Legit team. This weekend, 43 teams from four states are converging at U.S. Cellular Community Park for the largest flag football tournament the Oregon-based Man^ (pronounced "man-up") league has played. The tournament is also the first for the Woman^ league, formed two years ago, which drew in the top-ranked Fresno Lady Stingrays. Tournament games continue from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the park. Davis formed the Man^ league three years ago as a way to test a sportswear idea he's since patented. Instead of football flag belts, players wear athletic shorts or pants with Velcro pieces sewn onto them for the flags to attach. "We were like, 'We have to test it on people,' " Davis said. "Let's just create a league." Davis admits he was skeptical when Walls first developed a pair for women using yoga pants, but now sees women's football as an untapped niche. "This is a sport that they've been kept out of," Davis said. "It's the future." "I said, 'I think I can get women to do it,' " Walls remembers telling Davis. Davis said the league starts players in co-ed environments before moving to their own teams. He said men gain a deeper understanding of football by teaching it to women, who often start being unfamiliar with the basic rules, and in time women learn to adopt men's aggressive approaches to the game. "It's this really amazing melting pot," Davis said. At the conclusion of a match Saturday afternoon in which Eugene Flawless beat Salem Blitz 6-0, a winded Salem wide receiver said the league has grown in the two seasons she's played. "It's really fantastic," she said. After starting in the Medford-Grants Pass area, men's and women's leagues have expanded to Eugene, Salem and Bend. They plan to expand to Coos Bay next season, and eventually Portland. Davis is grateful for Medford Parks and Recreation's assistance helping him organize the league and for making it easy to schedule time on the park's fields. As an independent league, he said they could have been seen as competition to the city's own team sports and programs "They never looked at it like that," Davis said. "They've been really gracious." As a 39-year-old quarterback, Walls is playing on a team with 20-somethings. On the men's side, teams range from teens to adults in their 40s. "It brings all ages together," Walls said. Each team has 15-20 players, and the league has brackets for teams at different ability levels. Walls said she's particularly hands-on introducing women who are new to the game. She said she's been surprised to see players completely unfamiliar with football excel at it. Men or women interested in joining the league are encouraged to call Trish Walls at 541-660-5557 or see Facebook.com/RogueValleyFlagFootball . —Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat. By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat Posted Feb. 27, 2016 at 4:28 PM Updated Feb 27, 2016 at 6:39 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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