Anyone who thinks flag football is the light version of tackle football might just be proven wrong by Georgia State’s Vietnamese Student Association (VSA).
“We’ve had a lot of injuries on the team, especially on the defensive side,” player Christine Yun said. “I sprained my knee, but we also had dislocated shoulders.”
The Vietnamese Student Association flag football team’s practice sessions before the Olympics at Georgia Gwinnett College were pretty hectic, according
to player Christine Yun.
Injuries don’t deter the team’s 30 or so players from representing Georgia State at the VSA Olympics this spring.
Every year in April or March, VSA flag football teams from various schools including Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, Kennesaw, University of South Carolina and Emory compete in single-elimination tournaments.
Although VSA clubs organize many activities to raise funds, this event is not a fundraiser.
Diana Nguyen, VSA member at University of Georgia said, “It’s more of a bonding event for all the VSA’s in our community to come together.”
Last spring, the event was held at Georgia Gwinnett College, but the next host is yet to be determined.
“During tournament time you get to network and meet people from all the other schools and see what they’re doing,” Yun said.
Although most of the players are Vietnamese, there are participants from other nationalities such as Korea or Nigeria.
Aside from flag football, the event also offers participants to compete in sports such as soccer, indoor volleyball, and other small group activities.
Yet, Yun said that the flag football VSA players stay loyal to their sport. When asked why, she responded, “Why not?” with a laugh. “It’s so fun.”
Not only is it a “fun” sport to socialize and exercise, but Yun said it also serves as a “stress reliever.”
“You’re with your friends, you have a good time and goof around,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to get together and play.”
This doesn’t mean that the games cannot get heated up when the spring tournament comes around.
“Because its single elimination, it gets really intense,” Yun said.
The level of competitiveness leads to a lot of trash-talking previous to the games.
Also, in the search for advantage, teams even travel to see the other schools’ practice sessions to keep track of their rivals’ strategies.
“Gossip occurs naturally,” Yun said with a grin. “Some people will travel to go see UGA play, or see Kennesaw play and see what they’re doing and how they’re practicing.”
During preseason preparation, the team doesn’t take it lightly. They start practicing once a week this month, and as the tournament gets closer, they move to two days per week and add more practice hours.
“There are so many different opinions of how everything should be done,” Yun said. “We get on each other’s nerves a lot during practice.”
Because last semester Georgia State lost in the second round against Emory, they are motivated to place first next spring.
“We’re coming a lot hungrier this tournament because we didn’t get first place last time,” Yun said.
In order to win the tournament, the Panthers must beat UGA and South Carolina, their toughest rivals, Yun said.
However, Yun thinks that Georgia State has what it takes to take the big step.
“I think it’s about the physical aspect and how we do, but it’s also about how much you want it – I think we want it the most,” Yun said. “We’re the loudest and most spirited team.”
