Girls flag football: Familiar names coaching Pittsburg, Freedom
Pittsburg’s Victor Galli, Freedom’s Kevin Hartwig coaching CIF’s new sport — girls flag football — at their schools. Said Galli: ‘This isn’t Powder Puff. Winning counts.’
Victor Galli and Kevin Hartwig matched X’s and O’s on East Contra Costa County high school football fields for many years.
Galli led Pittsburg for 21 years before stepping down last fall; Hartwig led Freedom for 16 years before stepping down in 2017.
They’re back in action.
Only now are they coaching girls flag football, a sport that was approved by the California Interscholastic Federation last winter and will be introduced this school year.
Galli is the head coach at Pittsburg. Hartwig, who worked as an assistant coach at Heritage for a few years while his son was a player there, is back in charge of Freedom.
“He and I both came in together in 2002,” Galli said on Thursday to the Bay Area News Group. “It’s funny that we’re back together.”
Early indications indicate that the girls game will be a success.
Pittsburg had nearly 80 players try out for the sport, which has seven players on each side of the field and in which pulling a flag from a ballcarrier’s waist ends a play. Freedom had approximately 50.
Both had to cut dozens of players in order to reduce their rosters to around 30.
Hartwig said his school’s varsity team will have 20 players and a silver group of 10 players.
“We kept freshmen and sophomores just so we can start building a program,” Hartwig explained.
Galli stated that making cuts was excruciatingly painful. Before posting the names of those who made the team on a bulletin board, he and his assistants watched film of the players.
“In my 21 years of coaching at Pittsburg, I cut maybe five people,” Galli said. “I’m sure the plan for next year is to have two teams.” “I don’t like breaking people’s hearts.”
Galli stated that he does not want to add more players to the roster because there aren’t enough minutes in a game — 20 per half — to get everyone on the field.
“What happens is that when people aren’t playing a lot, you get irritated because you’re not playing,” he explained. “It’s not Powder Puff. Winning is important. “Not everyone participates.”
When told about Galli’s mindset, Hartwig laughed.
“I think we’re both just trying to get on the field and figure it out,” said Hartwig.
This season, all six Bay Valley Athletic League schools — Pittsburg, Freedom, Antioch, Heritage, Liberty, and Deer Valley — will have a team, and a champion will be crowned.
This fall, neither the North Coast Section nor the Central Coast Section will have playoffs, but that is likely to change in the next year or so as the sport grows.
“I’m very excited,” Hartwig stated. “I think it’s fantastic for football.” It breathes new life into it. Brings some good vibes at a time when money is everything and not just about playing flag football.”
Galli stated that he uses similar terminology in his tackle football playbook but has had to simplify the game.
“We’re starting from scratch in terms of language,” he explained. “We walked through the field yesterday.” ‘All right, now it’s second and ten. ‘What exactly does that mean?’ We’re going to be pretty good, but we’re still in the early stages. The girls are still in the process of learning.
“However, the girls are enthusiastic. They’re ecstatic to be there. They’re eager to get started.”
