Run as fast as you can.
It's a guiding principle of Squamish's flag football team, the Blue Bullets. The Bullets, aged six to nine, don't tackle, but they still work hard on the field.
"For this age group, it's awesome for kids who are fast sprinters," said Suzanne Wright, whose son Cody plays and whose husband Joe coaches the team.
Track and field doesn't start until kids get older, so for kids who are good runners flag football is a way to develop skills, Suzanne said.
And it's great for girls who want to play football.
"We would love to get girls out," she said. "The girls are the fastest."
The Blue Bullets don't have any girls on their team, but the teams from North Vancouver do.
Flag football also provides a chance for every kid to get involved with the sport.
"Everybody is a part of it," Suzanne said. "Everybody has a job."
"The game offers so much to each kid," she said. "I've never watched a sport where everybody enjoys it."
Three years ago there were barely enough players to put a team together, said Bullet coach Joe Wright.
Now, kids come from Whistler to play.
"It's because the game offers so much to each kid," Wright said.
"It's a very fun sport, you don't get hurt," said Cody Wright, age nine. "It gets you ready so you can play tackle."
Cody is in his last year of flag football, and will be moving on to PeeWee, but he has some reservations.
"I think I'm going to get really hurt," he said.
The fear of getting injured is common.
"We've had a couple kids go up to PeeWee who don't like to tackle," Suzanne said.
There has not been trouble with players trying to tackle instead of getting the flag off the opposing player's velcro belt either.
"It's generally not an issue at all," Suzanne said. "They love playing it so much that it is not a problem."
Sixteen boys play on the Bullets, and the hardest part of keeping the game rolling is short attention spans.
"It's hard to keep them in it," Joe said.
He said getting them into the huddle quickly and setting up plays is challenging.
The Blue Bullets won their game against the Buccaneers 19-0 on Sunday (Oct. 10) at Brennan Park.
"The game was a lot tougher then the score reflects," Joe said. "Two tougher players were away and a lot of our guys had to step up and they did so."
Mark McChesney was playing centre and he got the plays every time as well.
"Alex Auger got a couple of flags today and it's the first time he's done so," said Joe.
Joe expects the team will have a successful season. "We're looking good to finish first or second," he said. "It'll be a tight battle with the Packers."
The game on Sunday was especially positive for the Bullets. "It was the best reffing I've seen all year," Joe said.
