Started by students, the Pace Academy Flag Football League (PAFFL) is a new addition to Pace’s wide variety of clubs. The aim for this club is to encourage friendly competition between both the students and the faculty. Seniors Luke Sundermaier and Bobby Hanna teamed up to create this opportunity for the Pace community and are extremely passionate about it. “I love competitive spirit, and I thought it’d be really cool to have something where both students and teachers are involved,” said Sundermaier. “This league makes it fun for those who aren’t on the football team.” On Oct.1, the faculty drafted their teams from a roster of all the students who will be participating. Games for the league are planned to be played on Saturdays at Pace’s lower field. The rules are set to cover a 3 vs 3 game with substitutions ready to go. The coaches and managers of these rosters are the Pace faculty, with hopes to create a competitive spirit between them. Pace Upper School principal, Mr. Gannon will be one team’s head coach, however, he has some worries about the league’s start up. “I am excited to see if the alleged leaders have the follow through to actually get it going,” Gannon said. “There’s been a lot of talk; I want to see action.” Pace students, on the flip side, are extremely excited about this opportunity to compete and have fun. “The league itself is just electric,” Senior Jake Haggman said. “It’s a great way for the community to come together.” Overall, there are upwards of 50 students signed up to compete; they can’t wait for things to get rolling. While the league is currently Senior dominated, the objective is to bring the high school together as a whole, neglecting grade level. “We hope this becomes a Pace tradition and is an annual thing that the community does even after we leave,” said Sundermaier. The fall football spirit is back with high school football, college, and the National Football League, and now students have an exciting platform to dive in and play for themselves.
