Introducing Flag Football — a non-contact version of American Football. Instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag around the ball carrier’s waist to end a down (a period of time that begins when the center puts the ball into play until the ball becomes dead).
The match is played in two halves and the time length is determined by the league being played. The clock only stops for injuries, half-time and timeouts.
With that being said, let me introduce you to Nighthawks — one of our local Flag Football teams here in the Klang Valley.
The Women of Nighthawks— Hawk Girl Shit
I met with passionate and driven team captain, Najmie Zamrose, to ask her about the sport from a female’s perspective. She explained that when she first started back in 2019, there weren’t many of them and they hardly knew about the sport. It was more to learning the sport and gaining the experience rather than jumping immediately into the unknown.
It took some time, but after a few years, they finally had a national team. It began to expand and reach out to the outside community to get more exposure and for more people to learn about the sport, as well as join the community themselves.
The leader mentioned how previously they didn’t have a system, coaches or mentors to teach the newbies and rookies. But now, they have an association. Therefore, the sport has started to feel more welcoming in terms of girls getting involved and wanting to learn.
“Yes, definitely, because if you think about it, people always think that sports is a man’s thing. But I don’t want girls to have that kind of mentality because we can be just as good. If you look at other sports, most of the coaches and leaders are men. While we are under the same brand here at Nighthawks, we work under two different leaderships.
I want women to be able to stand on our own. Not necessarily separate us from the guys, but just to build our own brand and safe space so we can tell the girls to have fun, be together, get to know each other and be competitive at your own level.” Says Najmie when asked if her goal was to create a safe space for women.
I asked her what kind of imprint would she want to leave behind with her mark in the sport when her time comes, and her plan is to grow the team solid and introduce the sport to more people outside of the community as it is a relatively new sport.
After it was announced that Flag Football would be making its Olympic debut in LA 2028, a wave of hope flowed through as it was the key to get more individuals to learn about the sport.
During my time on the field with the team, I witnessed the kind of sportsmanship carried by Najmie. While she was very firm with them, her composure remains and she offers words of encouragement rather than talking her team down. It was very much obvious how close-knit Nighthawks are in general, but to see the way they inspire each other to do better was something that was hard to catch in a team.
One person amongst the many who was very helpful to me while on the field that I will never forget is Aneesa Alsagoff. High-spirited and welcoming, Aneesa mainly plays Cornerback. After sustaining an injury late last year, Aneesa was sidelined for several months as she underwent surgery and recovery. What caught my attention was her enthusiasm when encouraging her team during scrimmage and her admirable focus.
Aneesa spoke to me about how the scrimmage works and would often make sure I understood what was happening, as well as answer any questions I had about the play. There was no such thing as too many questions and I think that made it feel even more welcoming for an outsider like myself. If you are looking for training and scrimmage footages for Hawk Girl Shit, you can thank Aneesa for it later.
The ladies over in Nighthawks have a sense of adoration swimming through each other for each other, as well as for their leader. The teamwork shown around them was influenced by Najmie's proven effort in leading with kindness.
The principal of leading by example carries throughout the team, and even for the boys.
The Men’s Team — Hawks
After talking to the girls, I asked some of the guys a couple of questions. Encouraging and enthusiastic men’s team leader, Thomas Cowie, believes that Flag Football is currently at a unique stage in a sense that there is a following and community here in Malaysia.
“Find a community that suits you because this sport is very diverse in its community. We have all races, genders and preferences. It’s just a matter of finding where your pocket is. And if you don’t have that pocket, maybe come with a friend so it’s not so daunting. Remember to have fun and bring a smile.” Says the captain when asked what would he say to anybody feeling like they don’t have a spot in the sport.
I asked Thomas the same question as I did Najmie about what kind of imprint would they want to leave in the sport, and he replied by expressing his hope to make sure that people always leave the community better than they found it.
Krish — the founder of Nighthawks , who is a very humble and ardent guy— told that his role had evolved over the years playing with this team. They started off with a small group in Kota Kemuning, before slowly growing with many leaders like Thomas, Najmie, and all the other leaders coming in. He has a goal to see the sport grow with more youth and young people and to help bring Malaysia to an international level.
He believes that with the growing community, Flag Football would be seen as open for everyone to know there is a future in this sport, whether it is to represent your own country at an Olympics level or maybe even just at a club level.
Nighthawks — Ready, Steady, Fly.
I asked both team captains how they manage to get their teams to perform the best yet still reminding them that it’s alright to have fun. Both captains had similar answers — to showcase the difference between getting serious and having a good laugh.
“When it comes to scrimmage, I always try my best to instil some kind of banter, but in a very positive way whereby if someone were to do anything wrong, we’d laugh it off and make fun of each other. You need to be okay with recognising that you did something wrong so that your teammates can also push you to do better. At the same time, I always remind them to always celebrate everything that happens on the field.
You dictate whether you want to have an intense training session or a session where they feel like home, where they would want to come back. Yes, I want them to do well, but I also want them to feel like they can enjoy this sport and at the same time learn new things.” — Najmie Zamrose.
“It’s an intricate balance between fun and trying to be competitive, and I think the best way is ‘monkey see, monkey do’. So, I set the tone for the team every training and I make that whatever I teach is something that I myself implement, and they have an example to look up to.
When I’m giving the brief before training, they look at me and they know that this is the mood I’m setting and it’s time to train. It’s important to train seriously to get the result but it’s also good to have fun once in a while.” — Thomas Cowie.
If you ever want to try out for Flag Football, Nighthawks host Open Training every Saturday at the USJ11 field from 3PM and every Tuesday night at the EV Arena in Shah Alam. For more information, you can check out their Instagram here.
But if you would like to know what kind of team Nighthawks are, here is my honest opinion; Nighthawks are generous with their information, friendly with newcomers and welcoming with everyone around. They are close-knit, tight and family-like. The kind of support system they hold on their backs for each other is the exact example a team should set by their leaders, as well as the balance they have between getting serious and allowing each other to let loose and have fun.
Something that caught my attention for the team was their ability to show love and kindness to everyone around them, rookie or veteran. The encouragement that flows through the team easily was like seawater. I have never experienced or witnessed this kind of easy-going team before while still putting on the best performance for their tournaments and plays.
That is Nighthawks for you.
Alrissa Mariam is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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