Down a daunting 18 points in the third quarter, Nueva’s flag football team stood on the second yard line, patiently awaiting their cue. At the whistle’s shrill screech, they flew into coordinated motion–each player individually determined and sharply focused.

With anticipation mounting, quarterback Deion H. ’28 took the football and sprinted forward. He weaved through the defensive line, swerving to dodge opponents whose hands grasped at the flags on his belt. His teammates roared as he raced into the end zone. That triumph was the first of many, and they eventually won the game 30–18.

In just its second season, Nueva’s Flag Football Club has evolved from a small, casually organized group of freshmen into a committed team building a successful track record. Despite disadvantages—including a small roster and operating outside the school’s formal athletics program—the club finished the season as league champions, winning six of seven games.

The team competes in a small league against other Bay Area schools, hosting most games on the Hillsborough campus field. Throughout the fall, they officially met every Tuesday after school at the Bay Meadows Park. However, faculty advisor Dani Moseley remarked that it often felt like “they spent all of their waking moments, when they weren’t in class or doing homework, running plays or running practices.”

Their success was “a product of their own hard work, a product of their commitment and dedication to each other,” said Moseley.

The club was founded last fall by Kota N. ’28 and Deion, who both described flag football as integral to their middle school experience at Nueva—and noticed its absence at the Upper School.

“We just noticed a gap in the club and sport selection at the high school, and so we wanted to fill that,” Deion said.

While the team began modestly last year, playing only three informal scrimmages, this season marked a turning point.

“Once the schedule got more formalized at the beginning of this year, it really allowed the boys to lock in together,” Moseley said.

The difference between last season and this one, she said, made “the two seasons seem like night and day.”

Moseley, whose involvement includes managing the club’s finances, noted that funding was a significant challenge. Liability concerns prevent the club from being officially sponsored by Nueva’s athletic department, leaving it to operate independently.

That independence has fostered a high level of student leadership. “All the outreach, club funding, and organization, that’s all on us,” Deion said. Reflecting on the season, he added, “I learned the most effective leadership is when you lead with kindness [and treat] your teammates as equals.”

Though not officially classified as a varsity sport, the team’s internal dynamic closely resembles one. Players describe a culture defined by closeness.

Member Ishaan B. ’28 described the club as simply “a bunch of guys who’ve been friends for a very long time.”

The team grew closer by bonding over practices and film sessions where they analyzed recordings of their games. “When there would be a funny play that happened, we would all just die laughing together. I think those are the moments that really brought us together,” Deion said.

Moseley echoed that sentiment, describing the team as showing “a lot of respect, a lot of love,” and adding that when they take the field, “it is like one band, one sound. They are all on the same page.”

Many members of the team credit that cohesion as the foundation of their success this season. “Flag football is a very pure team sport,” Deion said. “Everybody is an essential part of the team, and we couldn’t run without anybody.”

Though Nueva’s roster is small—often half the size of the teams they face—their results have been outsized. The team won most games by wide margins, averaging 21.6 points per game.

For Kota, defeating larger, fully funded athletic programs was especially satisfying.“We were just a small club compared to these schools, and we were coming in there and succeeding with the smaller team every single time,” he said.

The team’s lone loss came late in the season, when several starters were gone. While disappointing, the setback underscored the team’s reliance on every player. Moseley noted: “Not having our go-to players to galvanize everyone made a difference.”

Rather than discouraging the team, the loss became fuel. Ashwin P. ’28 remembered Hsu telling the team, “We learned from those mistakes, and they didn’t learn anything by beating us.”

They decisively won the rematch.

Moseley described the club as a “third space” at Nueva where students can decompress and build close relationships. “A bit of this is self-care for them,” she said.

Next year, the team will move to varsity, entering a more competitive division with playoffs. Long-term, the founders see the club playing a larger role at Nueva and hope to benefit from its support.

“I truly believe that flag football should become a Nueva sport,” Kota said.

For now, the club remains proudly student-built. As Deion put it, laughing: “It almost felt like we were raising a kid.”

“And 13 other kids,” Kota added, joking, “[Deion] and I had a baby.”