If waiting until the end of the July for football to return is too long a wait, there’s a new option in Shawano for football fans.
The Shawano Football League, a eight-team five-on-five flag football league, just completed the fourth week of it’s eight-week regular season. League founder Kasey Hohn says similar groups have been successful in Wisconsin.
“We just threw it together,” Hohn said of the league, which debuted June 2. “The closest (other leagues) are Appleton, Fond du Lac or Milwaukee. So the guys around here all got together and thought we could do something.”
Hohn says the response has been great and the weekly Sunday games at Eberlein Park in Shawano have been well attended, by both players and fans.
“All kinds of people signed up,” he said. “We had 12 teams signed up beforehand. We had a lot of positive responses. A lot of community support. Everything here is sponsored from local establishments.”
Jeff Lenzner, a member of the DJ Service team, heard about the league on Facebook.
“We won our first two games,” he said. “It’s going good. A lot of fun. It’s a competitive league. It’s a good time.”
“Everyone was willing to hang fliers and put stuff in their business for us,” Hohn said.
The league ended up with eight teams with five to 12 players per team.
“(There’s) a lot of different age groups, from 18 to whatever,” Hohn said. “I think the oldest guy is like 40.”
Games are played on a 50-yard field that is 30-yards wide with 10-yard end zones. There are no kickoffs or extra points.
The league plays an eight-week regular season with a bye week, a week for makeup games and a playoff Aug. 4. All games are played from 1-4 p.m. on Sundays.
Hohn says plans are in place for a fall playoff league, and he expects the league will grow next season.
“We’re going to have a fall playoff league; we’ve got commitment for that already,” he said. “Next year, it’s going to be bigger. We’ve already had a few teams that dropped out trying to get back in on it.”
Hohn says everyone is welcome to join, both men and women. League fees are $125 per team.
“If you are considering playing football, it doesn’t matter how skilled you are, there’s a position for you,” Hohn said.
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