PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Building skills, good sportsmanship and character development, all while having fun and staying out of trouble — that’s what NFL Flag Philly offers city youth, starting at the age of 7.
Dontae Privette is the director of community engagement at the Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative. He started NFL Flag Philly in 2018 at the Kingsessing Recreation Center as the sport started to grow in popularity.
“Kingsessing was pretty much expanding and growing, and we wanted to try to reach more kids and serve our community in a different way,” he said.
Privette has been involved in youth sports for 16 years. “I never thought I would spend 16 years doing it when I first started, but I really felt like a deep sense of contribution and responsibility to my community.”
Growing up at 46th Street and Girard Avenue, Privette was always involved in free-play sports but never had the opportunity to be part of a team until he was in middle and high school. He said getting kids involved in sports early can be transformative.
“As long as it’s fun and their friends have access to it, they have a chance to really change the trajectory of the relationships that they build with each other and the bonds that they make and the skills that they need across their entire life through sports,” he explained.
During football season, Philly bleeds green, proving Privette’s point that sports are a great way to bring people together for something constructive.
He said he’s happy to spend time with the kids and show them how teamwork works, but he never looks for acknowledgment. It just comes with the coaching territory.
“For a coach, it’s one of those things that you just don’t expect,” he added. “You don’t expect the recognition or the acknowledgment for what you do. You’re really doing it just to try to make sure you’re giving kids something positive to do and having a chance to build those relationships.”
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