We recently announced that we won't be able to hold a Spring 2026 season. This is crushing, and it was important for us to reflect on why we started Patriot Flag Football, how we built our program, and why we are so proud and humbled that the entire community has embraced PFF in such a short time.

Why Patriot Flag Football?

In the fall of 2018, a rag-tag group of 1st grade boys from Walpole were thrown together on the Xaverian turf fields and told simply, go play flag football. The boys came from every elementary school, and none of the parent coaches had any idea what they were doing. Over the next few seasons, coaches like Greg Campbell, Matt Wassel, and Keith Zive — along with many others — learned the ins and outs of flag football and brought the game to life. Every player had a place on the field, and families quickly grew to love their Sunday mornings on the turf.

By the Spring of 2019, we began hearing about the possibility of new turf fields in Walpole. Between us, we had seven kids who played everything — soccer, lacrosse, baseball, field hockey, basketball, karate, wrestling, and Irish dance — and we were all deeply invested in the community. We supported the Friends of Walpole Recreation and the incredible efforts to bring the fields to life.

Simultaneously, the popularity of youth football was declining, not only in Walpole and surrounding towns. Kids around the country were not playing tackle football at a young age, picking other sports to focus on. In most cases they were already picking “their sport” before having the opportunity to experience all the amazing things the game of football has to offer.

With some challenges with other flag leagues in the area, and with new fields rising in our own town, the idea started to form: what if we built a program that was better organized, better loved, and better rooted in community than other flag football programs around? Greg and Colleen talked endlessly about whether we should do this and who we could bring along. There was never any doubt that Matt had the football experience and instincts and Keith had the technical knowledge to form the perfect team. Patriot Flag Football was born — built for Walpole athletes and families across Norfolk County.

We created our website in early 2021, held our first clinics that spring, and officially launched our league on the SM Lorusso fields. The bathrooms weren’t even finished yet; we paid for porta potties so all field users had what they needed.

Our early shirts read “Original Crew” and “Next Generation.” Many of those original players now suit up for high school sports, while the “next generation” — then in preschool and kindergarten — have become our flag Super Bowl–winning 4th and 5th graders. We championed girls in flag starting on day one, launching PFF Power, attending an all-girls tournament, and hosting 175 girls for a Females in Flag clinic with Ayla Brown — an event later featured on Fox 25 News. If we only knew then what we know now: that these small beginnings would one day become a league of 950 athletes, with another 150 on the waitlist, by fall of 2025.

How did our program grow?

Flag Football is one of the fastest growing sports nationally and has since become an official Olympic sport for men and women in the 2028 Olympics.

Once Patriot Flag Football took hold, it grew at a pace none of us expected. Clinics and seasons sold out faster than we could expand. Families returned year after year, bringing friends and spreading the word. We found a core group of solid referees and built relationships with officials who loved the game as much as we did. We established relationships with so many high school players who became our junior referees and clinic coaches, and heroes in the eyes of many kids.  

We listened closely to parents, assessed individual needs, sent out surveys after every season and clinic, and made significant changes based on the constructive feedback. We always kept things personal — families knew it was just us behind every message, every roster, every tiny detail. We worked hard to balance schedules and divisions so games were competitive and kids engaged. As our league grew, we added more playoff brackets so more athletes could experience that Super Bowl moment. And through it all, we support our coaches and referees, knowing they are the backbone of every great season. We hug a very fine line between a fun, competitive atmosphere and “over the top” youth sports. We believe this makes the experience engaging and fulfilling for the kids, families, coaches, and referees alike.

Who runs Patriot Flag Football?

We’re still surprised when people ask, “Who’s in charge of…?” or “Who do I talk to about…?” The answer is always the same: it’s us. The same four original team members still answer every email, build every schedule, accommodate schedule requests, assign every referee, and solve every conflict. We are by no means perfect, but we are there every Sunday morning — even with seven children of our own, each juggling sports, activities, and events — and we make it work. If you’ve spent time on our fields, you’ve seen us: fixing broken flags, handing out mouthguards, guiding officials, chatting with families, and watching our youngest still play his heart out every week. We have added to our team over the years -- Alex, Lenny, Riley, Dan and our oldest child, Sophia -- have become an integral part in making Sundays run as smoothly as possible at multiple locations.  

Why is community so important to PFF?

Community has always been the heartbeat of Patriot Flag Football. We watched friendships form across neighborhoods and towns, saw the entire Blessed Sacrament community cheering on their players, and celebrated the way an entire “kindergarten crew” of families came together simply because their kids started flag at the same time.

We’ve always been committed to giving back. We support every school, youth sport, and charity that asks for our participation in their fundraising needs. Each year, we’ve awarded scholarships, supported athletes heading to college, and helped Walpole High and King Philip High varsity players build relationships with younger kids while gaining mentorship and leadership experience. Some of these original high schoolers are now asking us for letters of recommendation as they graduate college and head out into the real world.

Our Females in Flag initiatives have given young female athletes a place to shine. And when our teams advanced to NFL Flag competitions, it proved what we already knew: when a community lifts its kids up, incredible things happen.

Our Walpole Youth Tackle Football numbers continue to increase across the board, with grades adding new participants every year. Our current 4^th grade team is playing for it’s 2^nd consecutive D1 title on Sunday. Almost all of those players played 4+ seasons of flag football prior to moving over to tackle. More and more kids are choosing football as “their sport”. We have proven that flag football is the perfect medium for young kids to fall in love with football, however and whenever their football journey evolves.

How has our growth affected our future?

As PFF grew, our reach expanded far beyond Walpole. The communities of Medfield, Dover-Sherborn, Dedham, Norwood, Canton, Foxboro, KP, and others have embraced us as their own. Families from surrounding towns joined us, and Sundays at the 1A fields became a destination for parents, siblings, friends, and grandparents. The vibe was infectious. It truly became the place to be.

But with growth came challenges, and new realities. Parking became more difficult, crowds increased, and the increase in total participants understandably capped our available field time at the SM Lorusso 1A Fields on Sundays. To manage this, we have established fantastic relationships with the Montrose School and the Norfolk Aggie to accommodate our needs. Additionally, we have worked with many surrounding towns to secure practice space for their respective teams to hold weekly practices.

Since our inception, it has been a difficult journey to establish ourselves as a real youth organization in the eyes of many people. This is understandable, as we are starting from scratch, and are required to essentially run a league along with multiple youth town organizations at the same time as flag football builds critical mass in our area. At the same time, we have always tried to partner with the town (as an example, see link to presentation and proposal given in front of Walpole Recreation Board last April), but we’ve been told repeatedly that we will never be considered a Walpole Youth Organization. This is despite serving hundreds of Walpole athletes each season. Instead of being at the table each season when field permit requests are reviewed, we are left with whatever field space is left over after all the other organizations have met their needs. These realities have limited our ability to plan for long-term stability, and unfortunately have shaped where PFF can go next. These last two seasons have been chaotic and challenging. We have not had the ability to provide the same level of communication, preparedness, and organization that everyone has come to expect and love about us and the PFF community you all have helped us create.

What is the future of Patriot Flag Football?

Even with these challenges, our passion for this sport — and for your children — has never wavered. We are actively exploring options in Montrose, Aggie, Norwood, and any other locations that would allow us to deliver the same high-quality, well-organized, deeply personal experience you’ve come to expect. We are open to all suggestions and will continue searching until we find the right fit.

Our hope is to continue. And when we have answers, you’ll be the first to hear from us.

At the end of the day, we are so proud to have created momentum around flag football — momentum that will carry on, no matter where the next chapter leads.

For now, we leave you the same way we started and ended every clinic:

Awww yeah!

~ Greg, Colleen, Keith and Matt

[email protected]

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