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By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

RAVENA — Local resident Jackson Hildebrandt is a rising star in the game of flag football, and has even taken his talents on the road, traveling from coast to coast.

Hildebrandt, 10, got his start in Ravena Pop Warner and made the transition to a travel flag football team, where he is a wide receiver and cornerback with the team, All-American Sports.

“A few years ago, when he was five, Jackson started with the flag football program for Ravena Pop Warner,” his mother, Chelsea Hildebrandt, said. “He liked it and he wanted to continue and do tackle, but I wanted him to hold off a bit. We saw a program at Afrim’s in Colonie for the flag football program up there. He signed up and a lot of his friends from around the area who were also on his baseball team signed up, and he was able to play with them as a team up there. He loved it.”

The sport of flag football has come into its own, and has the backing of the NFL — the National Football League — which runs NFL Flag. There is even talk of flag football having a place at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Flag football is a sport similar to traditional football, but with no tackling. Instead, players must remove a flag from the ball carrier to end the play, and there is very little physical contact between players.

“The games are shorter and you can only have five people on the field at once on each team,” Jackson explained. “There is no tackling.”

Jackson has been showcasing his talents in flag football at Afrim’s Sports in Colonie for the past couple of years. The sport has sent him to tournaments across the country.

“Everything is fun about it, but I especially like flag pulling — if someone is coming at you, you pull the flag and that is how they are ‘down,’” he said.

The sport can be played throughout the year, giving kids the chance to play and compete all year long.

“They do a couple of different sessions at Afrim’s — one in the fall and one in the spring, and sometimes they do one throughout the winter,” Chelsea Hildebrandt said. “Jackson kept signing up for all of the different sessions and then he went to a clinic they had during winter break. The man who runs the program asked if he ever played competitively. Jackson said no, and the man said they have a team that travels, doing tournaments in the area.”

That was the beginning of Jackson’s whirlwind travels.

Since January of last year, he has competed in tournaments all over the country, most recently in Tampa, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada, but he has also traveled to Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts and, of course, Albany.

Jackson has showcased his talents in everything from local to regional to national competitions. His team is backed by the New England Patriots through the NFL Flag league. Various NFL teams sponsor regional flag football teams.

“They play in a couple of different circuits — they play Flag Football Life and also NFL Flag,” Chelsea Hildebrandt said. “They made it to the national championship for Flag Football Life — that was in Tampa — and then in February we went to Las Vegas to play at the Pro Bowl.”

Jackson said the travel opportunities have been great, and the sport is fun.

“I would definitely encourage other kids to play,” Jackson said. “In tackle football you get hurt sometimes but in flag you usually don’t get hurt. And traveling was a lot of fun.”

Chelsea Hildebrandt said the players work hard at perfecting their skills on the field.

“We are so proud of him and his whole team. They really work hard and they deserve all of this,” she said. “I also want to get the word out there about flag football and about programs that are available, like Afrim’s, that keeps kids active. That is really important to me.”