The transition from winter to spring sports usually means a total roster overhaul for most high school programs. For the Bearden girls flag football team, however, the ultimate goal of building a successful program stays the same.
TSSAA moved flag football from late fall to the spring for the 2025-26 school year, meaning Bearden Coach Zach Scott is currently navigating the challenge of blending six returning veterans with a fresh wave of athletes joining the squad from other programs.
Despite losing key players to spring sports such as softball and lacrosse this season, the roster has been able to add soccer and basketball players who missed out in the team’s first season last year.
“We met way before on-field practice,” Coach Scott said. “We had meetings and let it happen naturally.”
Bearden won its first two games of the season against CMA and South-Doyle, and the Lady Bulldogs will be home again on March 23 when they play Central.
For veteran players like senior receiver Finley Wright, the shift to spring meant becoming a teacher as much as a teammate. Since many of the new additions are picking up the sport for the first time, the returning core has had to lead the way.
“Nobody has played flag football before besides the returning players,” Wright said. “It is challenging to learn and stay serious, but we’ve done a great job focusing during practice and using those skills in our games.”
One of those new faces is Sophie Keener, who made the jump from the soccer field to the flag football turf. Keener – who is one of several in the running to replace last year’s starting quarterback Abby Thompson – noted that while the sports are different, the athleticism, conditioning, and ability to catch the ball translated quickly. She credits the veterans for making the high-intensity environment of a varsity program feel welcoming.
“They are really encouraging,” Keener said. “The upperclassmen like to teach and help. They bring positive attitudes that rub off on me.”
While the learning curve was steep initially, the new players are catching on just as the playbook is expanding. Coach Scott noted that the extra practice time has allowed the team to become more complex on both sides of the ball.
That time has helped players like Keener adjust to football schemes that were new to her.
“At the beginning, it was definitely tough,” Keener said. “As the offseason has gone by, the playbook has gotten easier to understand and learn.”
Wright agrees that the added complexity makes the Bulldogs a bigger threat to their opponents.
“The team is more dangerous,” Wright said. “We feel as if we are ahead of other teams due to the size of our playbook.”