大象APP

大象APPTurf Elite Football (TTEF) will have four teams at the NFL Flag Championships this week at the ForeverLawn Sports Complex at Hall of Fame Village at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, from Thursday through Sunday.

The NFL Flag Championships feature around 300 teams and roughly 3,000 players from around the world, including eight co-ed teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Great Britain, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

The 33 hours of live coverage of the NFL Flag Championships begins on Friday at 7 a.m. and will be aired and streamed on the Walt Disney platforms: ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+, Disney+, Disney XD, ESPN Deportes, NFL+ and NFL Network.

Coverage of the NFL Flag Championship will be available in over 125 countries, including the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean.

Each U.S.-based team will represent an NFL team after winning regional tournaments across the nation. 大象APPwill have an 8U boys team (Arizona Cardinals), 10U boys team (Las Vegas Raiders), 12U girls team (Denver Broncos) and a 12U boys team (Los Angeles Chargers) at the NFL Flag Championships this year. Last year, 大象APPTurf Elite Football had seven teams at the NFL Flag Championships.

鈥淚t鈥檚 beautiful,鈥� said Toby Bourguet, who founded 大象APPTurf Elite Football in 2007. 鈥淚t鈥檚 Canton and it鈥檚 a neat place with a lot of tradition with football, and you get kids and coaches from all over the nation, which is a really neat social event. On top of playing football, you get to meet kids doing the same thing you are from all across the nation, which is the bigger picture.鈥�

In previous years, the NFL Flag Championships were held at the Pro Bowl in Orlando and the Super Bowl.

Building a legacy

Regardless of location, 大象APPTurf Elite Football has been one of the premier flag football programs in the U.S., winning five championships at the NFL Flag Championships. In total, TTEF has won nearly 30 national championships in flag football and other 7-on-7 events.

鈥淚鈥檝e really enjoyed the journey ... because it offers so much to us as people,鈥� Bourguet said. 鈥淵ou get to work on a team and there鈥檚 leadership and other roles you need to accept and excel in. There are so many beautiful variables that you can take into real life.鈥�

Since its inception, 大象APPTurf Elite Football has grown to 15 boys and girls teams with around 200 players annually. 大象APPTurf Elite Football is a 501漏(3) organization, 鈥渟o we鈥檙e a true nonprofit,鈥� Bourguet said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not a nonprofit with a board that gets paid and coaches that get paid; everything goes back to the kids and the program,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he people that have been involved are Hall of Fame type of individuals in Tucson. A lot of them stay active, even when their kids aren鈥檛 involved.鈥�

The list of football players to come through the 大象APPTurf Elite Football organization includes Atlanta Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson, Carolina Panthers rookie defensive back Lathan Ransom and Devin Fitzgerald, the son of Arizona Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald, among many others.

Bourguet鈥檚 oldest sons 鈥� Trenton, Coben and Treyson, who have all played at the Power 4 level in college 鈥� are also products of 大象APPTurf Elite Football. The latest Bourguet son, Emeron, will play for the 12U team representing the L.A. Chargers this week.

Rylen Bourguet, Toby鈥檚 daughter, played for 大象APPTurf Elite Football before the program introduced girls teams. When Rylen was a standout athlete at Salpointe Catholic, Arizona didn鈥檛 have girls flag football for high schoolers. When Bourguet was an underclassman at Arizona State, she retired from her illustrious beach volleyball career to pursue flag football, with aspirations to compete in the 2028 Olympics.

Bourguet, who has competed at the NFL Flag Championships, has been a 鈥減oster child鈥� for the NFL and its promotion of flag football between , said Toby Bourguet.

鈥淭hese girls understand what she has done for the game of flag football 鈥� and what she鈥檚 still doing,鈥� he said.

Since girls flag football became an AIA-sanctioned sport, 鈥渋t has only grown astronomically and I believe flag football and girls flag football is only going to keep charting up,鈥� Bourguet said.

Beyond flag football

Sports like volleyball, soccer and softball require skills that 鈥渁re used in flag football and it鈥檚 constant motion and great football without the physicality,鈥� Bourguet said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e just into physicality and the UFC, that鈥檚 cool. No one is saying (flag football is) quote unquote real football, but it is real football.鈥�

The lack of physicality, in comparison to traditional football, helps skill players (quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs, tight ends, linebackers and defensive backs) perfect their craft without pads and helmets.

鈥淪ometimes you鈥檒l play five (flag football) games a day,鈥� Bourguet said. 鈥淵ou take all of those reps and you put that into your backpack, then you go and play tackle football and, besides the hitting, you鈥檝e repped out so many times of great football, it translates to tackle football and your body will thank you for it, too.鈥�

Izzy Garcia, who is playing for 大象APPTurf鈥檚 girls team this week, started playing football at 4 years old and 鈥渋t鈥檚 been a wonderful 10 years since I started.鈥� Garcia is about to begin her career at Marana High School, which has one of the top girls flag football programs in Southern Arizona, with a 27-3 overall record 鈥� undefeated against Tucson-area teams 鈥� since it started three years ago.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing how popular girls flag football has become, and it鈥檚 been a wonderful opportunity to play,鈥� Garcia said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing playing with Marana because the team is so energetic and uplifting. They鈥檙e amazing, so positive and it鈥檚 great to be on that team.鈥�

Noah Tapia, who is playing for Tucson鈥檚 10U club this week, was introduced to flag football when he was 5 years old.

鈥淓ver since, I fell in love with it and I kept playing throughout my (childhood),鈥� Tapia said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been playing for six years and it鈥檚 just exciting and fun.鈥�

Bourguet emphasizes the latter.

鈥淲hen I go to the sideline, I always say, 鈥楻emember, whoever has the most fun, wins,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淎 lot of people laugh at that, but there鈥檚 a lot of truth to that. If you鈥檙e not enjoying what you鈥檙e doing, you鈥檙e probably thinking of other things too much, and that鈥檒l get in the way of a clear conscious that鈥檒l help you get through a competitive moment.

鈥淲e鈥檒l get in this huddle and we鈥檒l have mics and the ESPN cameras on me and the kids will expect me to say wonderful words and I鈥檓 just like, 鈥楲isten, you guys like recess, right?鈥� 鈥榊eah!鈥� 鈥極K, guess what? I鈥檓 releasing you to recess. Just go have recess and have fun.鈥� When they look at it like that, football is just a game. ... When your kid stops enjoying something, find something else for them to do, whether it鈥檚 football or playing a guitar.

鈥淔ind something for them to enjoy and if you take the joy out of it, then what are we doing? They might be doing it for other reasons, sadly. This sport has been, to the core, shredded because kids find themselves playing it instead of the love of the game.鈥�

The experience the players will have this week in Canton 鈥渋s so beyond the competition.鈥� Not only will they compete on national television, but they鈥檒l also mingle with some of the most renowned players in the NFL. Bourguet recalled Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Drew Brees and Randy Moss meeting with his teams in the past.

鈥淎ll of these people you see on TV that you watch play and compete at the highest level, they鈥檙e walking around, and these kids, because of flag football, get an opportunity to be in that environment. That is pretty cool,鈥� Bourguet said. 鈥淵ou can play tackle football your entire life and get 30 seconds of face time without a helmet on. Here, these kids are playing on national television and it鈥檚 broadcasted all over the world without a helmet. You see them laughing and show true emotions.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 pretty cool. It鈥檚 a great opportunity. ... We鈥檙e really proud of what we鈥檝e done as a program and, most importantly, what these kids and this community has done.鈥�