Hendrick Hudson’s Championship-Winning Flag Football Team Earns Visit with New York Giants
As if winning a Section One Championship this spring wasn’t reward enough, the Hendrick Hudson flag football team was invited to visit the New York Giants training facility and meet the owner, head coach and players on Wednesday, June 11.
The Sailors, led by coaches Craig Solomon and Dina Bertoline, and accompanied by Athletic Director Tom Baker and other staff members, were one of several championship-winning flag football teams from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in attendance for the celebratory event, which was held in the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., which houses the Giants’ practice facility, training center and team offices, and sits within view of MetLife Stadium.
“It’s so special and so rewarding for the girls to have this opportunity to come down and see where the Giants practice,” said Solomon, the head coach of the Sailors, who recently completed just their second year as a program with a trip to the state playoffs. “It was a great culmination of all the great things they accomplished this season.”
Hen Hud players and coaches posed for photos with Giants players Jameis Winston, Brian Burns, Darius Slayton and Ihmir Smith-Marsette, along with head coach Brian Daboll. Each team in attendance, including the Sailors, were presented by Coach Daboll with a trophy and posed for photos with the coach, players and others, including the team’s co-owner John Mara, a Westchester County resident.
“Being here is an incredible opportunity for us,” senior captain Lucy Mager said.
Following the trophy presentation, the teams participated in several fun relay games on the same turf used by the Giants for practices. The relays included a water relay, a medicine ball relay, and more, and Hen Hud won the competition based on its combined score in the events.
The Sailors wrapped up the visit — and their historic championship season — by posing for one last photo with the Giants’ players.
“Being a section champ was a great way to end my senior season. This was probably the best team I’ve ever been on and I’ve played sports for a while now,” said Mager, who clutched the winning trophy after the fun competition. “To then be invited here to the Giants’ stadium and be able to play with all of these amazing teams here, it’s an incredible reward. We all worked so hard to be here as a team.”