The City of Newburgh Recreation Department is proud to announce a new flag football program, through a limited partnership with the National Football League, that will offer Newburgh youth the opportunity to come out and compete. This new program is being maintained by Recreation Director Matthew Nordt and Recreation Coordinator Michael Tetrault.

This new flag football program will be offered for three age groups: ages 6-8, ages 9-11 and ages 12-14. Players will be able to take home an NFL Flag Jersey included with registration and payment. The standard fee for a resident will be $70 while non-residents fees will be $80. Additional immediate family members who are residents will have an additional fee of $60 while nonresident immediate family members will have a $70 fee. A mouthpiece will be required for gameplay.

Working in recreation in Westchester prior to coming to Newburgh, Nordt had the opportunity to work with the flag football program back in 2001 and continued to see it grow more and more each year. Nordt recalled that the only two teams who had sponsored jerseys at the time were the New York Giants and New York Jets with the additional flags and equipment. Twenty years later, the program has offered online resources for kids and athletes along with the Play 60 campaign, a period of 60 minutes where kids get outside and play; and more teams with replica jerseys similar to what players today have has made the program more desirable.

At the previous city council work session, Nordt was happy to announce to the council that recreation had applied for 12 grants and had been awarded all of them for a total of $41,600. But as of Wednesday, April 5, the recreation department was able to secure more additional funding which increased the amount to a total of $63,000. “It’s a great day for the recreation department as a whole,” said Nordt. “We [Rec Dept.] have a very good team here.”

Tetrault, a longtime resident of Newburgh who graduated from Newburgh Free Academy, went off to college and then came back to work in the area. Growing up in the area, Tetrault always remembered hearing how there was a gray cloud over the area but with this program, he hopes to shine some light on the department and all the programs offered. “It’s a great opportunity, the resources that come with being a partner with the NFL is abundant between handbooks, playbooks, rule books. Being able to wear a jersey that looks just like an NFL team jersey, and instead of just like a red or yellow t-shirt, I think it goes a long way,” said Tetrault. “Our main focus is quality over quantity. We really focused on getting a good quality program. I’m super excited for the season, being it’s the first time.”

For Nordt and Tetrault, both are looking forward to city youth of all different skill levels and playing styles to take part in this inaugural program, and with the limited partnership, the department has the opportunity to offer the program for as long as possible while following the NFL guidelines. The recreation department is also seeking any volunteers who wish to be a part of the league. While the program age limit is set to 14 years, Nordt would like to hopefully see high school and adult flag football leagues be offered for the community should it be desired.

For more information, contact Michael Tetrault at 845-569-7374 or by email at mtetrault@cityofnewburgh-ny.gov. The same information can be found on the NFL Flag website at nflflag.com.