Competitive youth flag football league being offered in Coeur d'Alene

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

A local, competitive youth flag football league is now being offered in Coeur d’Alene, for kids throughout Kootenai County. 

NorthWest Flag, a nonprofit league and local affiliate of NFL Flag, plans to offer spring and fall flag football leagues in the spring and fall, beginning in April 2026. 

“We wanted to build a local, nonprofit, youth football league that’s affiliated with NFL Flag,” said Alex Hamill, a former local high school football player who also played football in college, and is the head organizer spearheading the push for the local league. “And we have an NFL Flag affiliation for Coeur d’Alene, and we wanted to offer a competitive, local flag football experience centered on community, local teams and positive player development, with all proceeds invested back into the program for the kids.” 

Hamill, who has two young boys and has coached flag football, said he has experienced being a part of other regional flag leagues where someone out of state makes a profit. 

He said by being a nonprofit league, all proceeds from NorthWest Flag will go back into the league, through equipment, camps, etc. 

Registration is underway, at nwflagfootball.com 

“We would prefer team registration (rather than individual registration), so that neighborhood kids could play with neighborhood kids,” said Hamill, who grew up in Coeur d’Alene playing flag football, then Junior Tackle. “That’s how, in my opinion, lifelong friendships are built.” 

Northwest Flag is for kids from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. Teams will play in four divisions — Pre-K/K, first/second grade, third/fourth grade and fifth/sixth grade. 

Ideally, there would be 4-5 teams in each league, 10 kids per team in the 5-on-5 league. 

Board members include Hamill, Ben Widmyer, another former local high school football player who went on to play in college; Tucker Forbush, a longtime youth coach; and Keegan Hersrud, who is commissioner in charge of operation for the NorthWest Flag league. 

“I’m not making money,” Hamill said. 

Hamill said he wants his competitive league to serve as a complement to the local, rec leagues. He noted Coeur d’Alene Parks and Rec recently dropped its flag football league due to dwindling numbers.  

"We’re not looking to compete with anyone; we’re just looking to fill a need, and really bolster the football community,” Hamill said. “There's a need for a mix for the rec league and a competitive, AAU-type league.” 

Kids living in Coeur d’Alene and surrounding areas like Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, Athol, Spirit Lake, etc., are welcome. 

The spring league would begin in mid-April and run through the end of May. Games would be scheduled for Sundays, at an area field to be determined, to allow kids interested in other sports to play those sports while also playing flag football. 

“We believe kids should play all sports, not specialize too early,” Hamill said. “Early specialization is a trend in youth sports that needs to go away.” 

Hamill said NorthWest Flag is a local league, though teams could choose to play regionally or even nationally if they wished. 

As part of its affiliation, NFL Flag will provide NFL-logoed jerseys, flags and balls at a reduced cost to NorthWest Flag. 

Junior Tackle in Coeur d’Alene begins in third grade. Hamill noted that, by that time, kids could choose to play, say, Junior Tackle in the fall and flag football in the NorthWest Flag league in the spring. 

“We’re focusing on competition. Team registration, competitive kids,” Hamill said. “We wanted to keep it local, community based, and we wanted to keep it nonprofit. It’s not a rec league putting on football, it’s a football league put on by football people.”

Information: nwflagfootball.com, [email protected]

    NFL Flag football logo.