After high school and college ball, flag football is a great way to stay competitive, stay in shape and be part of a team. With flag football becoming a popular pastime among men in their twenties this holiday shopping list will be sure to please the football enthusiast in your life. New leagues are forming all over the country and interest in this sport has been growing in recent years.
10. A new pair of cleats.
Women have boots, kids have toys and men have cleats! It is a basic story of the right accessory for the day. Cleats start to smell and are usually gross and muddy after a few games. If you buy him a new pair, he will look better, he will smell better and heck, he might even think he can play better.
9. Under Amour.
Under Amour is an amazing product that keeps sweat off your body. It keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It is a great alternative to layering on baggy bulky clothes and looks better too. Make him feel like a pro by wearing the same gear that they do. They make everything from hats to shirts and more for keeping any part of your body protected no matter what the season.
8. An Official NFL or NCAA Football.
Most flag football leagues require an official size football and most can be expensive. Most leagues will not let you play if you do not have this specific type of ball. Usually it must be leather rather than the stickier composite material found at most sporting goods stores. I recommend a Wilson football, as they are the official football of the National Football League and are easily found in most stores.
7. Color Coordinated Accessories.
Most teams have colors on their team jerseys. For those girls who know nothing about teams and colors if you match those colors you are usually safe. Buy anything to help him play like gloves, socks, wristbands and armbands. If he plays during winter months, give him a warm knit hat in the team colors. He will appreciate the gesture of you buying something with his team colors on it. Please note that a lot of leagues will not allow players to wear hats with rims like baseball caps for safety reasons, so I would stick with soft knit hats, or other accessories.
6. Receiver Gloves.
Receiver gloves are meant to help a player catch or hold on to a football. They vary in degree of stickiness and can be color coordinated to match the team colors. They do come in sizes from small to x-large, so you would need to know what size your boyfriend is. Glove prices range from $19.99 and can be over $100 depending on the quality of the glove. After a few years of use they wear out so a new pair is always better then an old pair.
5. Big Gatorade Type Water Jug.
Make your boyfriend the hit of the team at the next game. When he shows up with a huge gallon jug of Gatorade in the big orange bucket he will be sure to be the team favorite. Most guys come to games using their own tired water bottles. This way they can share, hydrate and even dump the whole thing on the coach if they win living out all their pro fantasies.
4. New Gear Bag.
Instead of going to the games with your boyfriend’s equipment in a plastic grocery store bag, why not buy him a nice new gear bag. He can probably use it for all sorts of things; not just games but at least he will look more official going to the flag football field. It is good to find a bag that has a separate compartment for the shoes from the rest of the bag to keep the dirty stuff separate from anything else like a clean pair of clothes and gear. Also small pockets for car keys, wallet and cell phone are always handy.
3. First Aid Kit
Not only is it required by most leagues for someone on every team to have a first aid kit, but also it is probably not a bad idea for your boyfriend to leave in his car anyway. Although flag football is not a full on contact sport, guys do get hurt on occasion. Most basic kits come filly stocked, but for sports make sure your kit have bandages, athletic tape, gauze and antibacterial-cleaning agents for wounds. If you want to look for a fancier kit, you can look for ones with ice packs, aspirin, and heating packs. Most stores like K Mart or Target have first aid kits in varying sizes and price points. This might not be something your boyfriend would ask for, but something he needs.
2. Speed Parachutes.
These are small parachutes that you attach around your waist that provide resistance when you run. These are great for improving the speed and strength of your lower body as well as for general fitness. These are used during practice or during personal training. The cost for one of these is about $50 and can be found online.
1. Flag Belts.
What is a flag football game without flag belts? They come in most colors and several different styles. The most popular style is the “triple threat belt” which has three flags attached to it. If possible try to find out the league rules before purchasing the, or ask your boyfriend’s preference. However if you are playing for fun choose any style that you like. Flag belts are priced at $39.99 for a dozen, and come in a variety of sizes from youth to adult extra large.
Hope Solo (born 30 July 1981, in Richland, Washington) is an American Soccer goalkeeper currently playing for Saint Louis Athletica of Women’s Skilled Football and is often a member with the United States women’s national Football team.
Soccer career
Hope Solo played Soccer with the Three-River’s Soccer Club in the Tri-Cities. She played forward until the finish of high school, when she switched to goalkeeper. Solo played for various U.S. junior national Football teams prior to joining the full U.S. national team in 2000. She was named a member of the Olympic team in 2004, making the 2004 Olympics in Athens as an alternate. Hope Solo became the team’s starting goalie in 2005. She has recorded various clean sheets and once went 1,054 minutes with no allowing a aim (a streak that ended in a 4-1 victory against France in the Algarve Cup).
As a forward in high school, Hope Solo scored 109 goals, leading her team to three consecutive league titles from 1996-1998 along with a state championship in her senior year.[1] She was twice named a Parade All American.
At the University of Washington, Solo switched towards the goalie place and was the team’s all-time leader in clean-sheets, saves, and goals-against typical (GAA). She was a 4-time All-Pac-10 pick plus a three-time NSCAA All-American.
Following her college career, Hope Solo was drafted for the now defunct WUSA team Philadelphia Charge in 2003. She also played for Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC of Göteborg, Sweden in the Swedish Premier Division in 2004 and for Olympique Lyonnais within the French Very first Division in 2005.
On September 16, 2008, Hope Solo was 1 of the three players drafted for Saint Louis Athletica in the WPS allocation of national team members, using the new league (a revival with the WUSA) starting play in April 2009. Solo let in 6 goals within the first 4 games as Athletica got off to an extremely slow 0-2-2 commence in their very first season, but she (as well as the rest of the team) stepped up soon after that, with Solo only letting in eight goals in her next thirteen games, finishing the season with eight shutouts.
In 2009 was named the WPS goalie with the Year.
2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup
Hope Solo was the beginning goalkeeper for the United States within the 2007 FIFA Women’s Globe Cup, giving up two goals in 4 games such as consecutive shutouts of Sweden, Nigeria and England. Heading into the semifinal match against Brazil, U.S. manager Greg Ryan benched Solo in favor of 36-year-old veteran U.S. keeper Briana Scurry, who had a robust history of performance against the Brazilians but had not played a complete game in 3 months.[2][3] The U.S. lost to Brazil 4-0, ending a 51-game (regulation time) undefeated streak, when playing much with the match with ten players immediately after midfielder Shannon Boxx received a second yellow card at the end of the 1st half.
Post-2007 World Cup fallout
In an impromptu interview following the match, a clearly upset[4] Hope Solo criticized Ryan’s determination. “It was the bad decision, and I think anybody that knows something concerning the game knows that. There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. And also the truth of the matter is it’s not 2004 any longer. It’s not 2004. And it’s 2007, and I feel you must live within the present. And you can’t live by major names. You can’t live previously. It doesn’t matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold medal game within the Olympics three years ago. Now is what matters, and that’s what I think.”[5][6] Several viewed her comments as being critical of Scurry’s efficiency, despite the fact that Hope Solo released an apologetic statement the following day saying that was not her intent.[7] On September 29, 2007, manager Greg Ryan declared that Hope Solo wouldn’t be with the team and wouldn’t play inside the third-place match against Norway the following day.[8][9] Team captain Kristine Lilly stated that the choice on Solo was created by the team as a group.[ten] The U.S. went on to win against Norway 4-1.
Hope Solo was named to the U.S. women’s national Football team roster for the post Globe Cup tour, but she did not attend the very first workout ahead with the 1st game against Mexico. The players’ contract with the federation stipulated that any person on the Globe Cup roster had the correct to play within the tour. Greg Ryan said, “We’re initiating a method of reconciliation, and in performing that you can’t mandate reconciliation. This isn’t a made for Hollywood passion story, this can be a actual story, and we’re all working at that.”[11] She was present for, but did not play in any of, the 3 games against Mexico, becoming replaced by Briana Scurry for the initial and third matches, and Nicole Barnhart for the second. The third match against Mexico, on October 20, 2007, marked the finish with the U.S. women’s national team’s 2007 season. The team regrouped in January 2008 to start preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[12] Ryan left the team after his contract was not renewed in December 2007 [13]
Beijing Olympics 2008
On June 23, 2008, it was declared Hope Solo would be the beginning goalie for the U.S. team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In a reversal of roles from the 2004 Olympics, Brianna Scurry didn’t make the team (although she was an alternate). On August 21, the U.S. women’s team won the gold medal by defeating Brazil 1-0 in added time in no smaller measure because of Solo’s outstanding efficiency as she stopped an energetic Brazil attack, creating save right after save.[14]
Personal life
Hope Solo’s parents divorced when she was 6; when she lived with her mother, she stayed close to her father, a sometimes-homeless veteran who remained a major influence in her life until his sudden death in June 2007.[15] [16] She attended Richland High School and the University of Washington.
