Eight girls across Lynn, Danvers, Peabody, Everett, Woburn, and Manchester-by-the-Sea are part of a team heading to Las Vegas in February to represent the New England Patriots. Lynn’s own Aliyah Alvarado, a 13-year-old girl who attends St. Mary’s, is ready for the big stage as she gears up for the NFL Flag Championships.
This year, Alvarado and her team have been competing in the CK Flag Football League, an organized flag football league in Massachusetts sponsored by the NFL.
To qualify for the NFL Flag Championships, states hold regional tournaments for teams to compete in, and the winner books a ticket to Las Vegas. The New England Patriots hosted this year’s tournament.
Of the five teams the CK League sent, Alvarado’s team, CK Divas Elite, went 6-0 and won the championship to secure its ticket to the NFL Flag Championships. The championship will take place during Pro Bowl weekend with teams from all around the country competing.
Though the league was founded last year, it mainly consists of boys teams. Tina Pecina, who runs the CK Flag Football League, agreed to let girls play in her league.
“For Tina and the CK League, to give the girls opportunities [to play] is huge,” Aliyah’s mother, Jill Alvarado said. “She’s [Tina] gone to every tournament with them. It shows how much she actually cares about the girls, seeing them succeed and trying to push the girls to the next level.”
Jill credits not only Tina, but head coach Vladimir Lafontant for the development of the players. Off the field, Lafontant lets parents send their kids with him to travel for the games so the families do not have to pay all the travel expenses associated with the sport.
“A lot of times, he’ll take the girls so we don’t have to pay all that money for our whole family to go. He’s great with them,” Jill Alvarado said.
Throughout the year, the CK Divas Elite traveled around the country competing. Aliyah and her team have recently competed in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey. In January, the team will compete in the Flag Football Life National Championships in Tampa, Florida.
Aliyah plays center and wide receiver for her team, to which she said “it’s really fun to play.”
The team has created a GoFundMe to ease the travel cost for the families. The GoFundMe will help the team with equipment, training, and lodging expenses. The link to the fundraiser is below:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/ck-divas-girls-flag-football-team-go-to-nationals?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined&mibextid=
