HIGH SCHOOL FLAG FOOTBALL: FROM DANCE TO THE GRIDIRON, EMERSYN GARVIN FOLLOWS IN HER FAMILIES FOOTSTEPS ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD (2023-05-12)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
When it was announced that Elmira was going to have a flag football team Emersyn Garvin had plenty of family members telling her she should give it a try.

It seemed almost destined to happen, after all she is a Garvin. Her dad was a football standout at EFA and her twin brother — Evan — is the starting quarterback for Elmira’s boys’ football team.

“I like to think it’s in my blood,” Emersyn Garvin said. “It was actually very quick (the decision). Actually, my whole family wanted me to, so I was like I’ll give it a try even though it’s something I’ve never done before, catching balls and everything like that, but I enjoy it a lot.”

The flag football team is coached by Jimmy McCauley and the same staff who coach the boys. For Emersyn she had already heard about what to expect, how intense and excited the coaches can get, and that she’d learn a lot from them.

“I heard a lot, especially about coach,” Garvin said. “He (Evan) was right about that. We have a great coaching program, I love playing with the girls.”

Emersyn is a wide receiver for the Elmira flag team, while her brother is a quarterback on the boys side. There are plenty of things that her quarterback brother can see about the game and talk to her about after games.

“Going home and sitting down with my brother and going over plays and getting his insight on things,” Emersyn said. “Maybe some things I don’t know, but he has been in the game for a while so he really helps me a lot.”

Emersyn has caught passes from her brother before, and now that she’s a receiver for Elmira she does it more often, and it helps having a quarterback at home to practice with.

“I have actually,” Emersyn said of catching passes from her brother. “I haven’t always been too good at it, but since I’ve got gloves I’ve been pretty good.

“It helps tremendously, he has helped me a lot.”

It’s fun for Emersyn to be able to share this experience with her twin.

“I will say it’s a big thing to look up to my brother,” she said. “He’s been a great role model for me, he puts so much work and effort to be a good quarterback for his Elmira High School football team. It’s amazing to be able to pick his brain apart.

“It’s nice we can share this and talk about it and connect even closer. I do understand those tackles now, the whole coordination, it’s a lot, it’s amazing.”

Flag football is a bit different from boys football, as the girls play 7-on-7 and there is a lot more passing. Emerysn knows her brother must get jealous at times as a quarterback seeing how much the girls game puts the ball in the air. But, Evan also recognizes how well the girls are playing the game.

“I think he is very jealous on how much we pass,” she said. “He gives us props, that was a good pass, that was a good route, he’s very supportive.

“It’s a lot different with 7 v. 7 to, just creating that special bond with those six girls who you are on the field with, it’s great.”

Emersyn has also heard plenty of stories from her dad over the years.

“He’s had his days, eh likes to break it down, show me some of his routes from the old days, but I like to keep it my way,” Emersyn said.

It’s special now to go home and be able to tell her football stories with her whole family.

“Family dinners are very fun now,” she said. “We all have stories going around the dinner table, that’s always great.”

For Emersyn she has been an athlete her whole life, and she has one main sport she still focuses on, and that is dance. Emersyn dances for Elmira Dance Force.

Dance and football can seem like a bit of an odd mix, but they actually competent each other.

“It’s very different just switching on and off from putting cleats on and not having cleats on, it’s two different things,” Garvin said. “Actually one of them (people on her dance team) is on the team with me. There’s a very big difference (between the two sports), but actually a lot of it helps out with the movement and control and all that plays into it with dance and football. It just really helps me overall.”

“It helps a lot having that muscle control.”

There can be challenges in balancing both dance and football, but Emersyn has great coaches who make it work out.

“It can be tough balancing, but everyone is supper supportive and everyone loves the idea of me dancing and playing football,” Emersyn said. “It’s just different and they make it work for me, so I’m very appreciative of that.”

It’s very special for Emersyn to be a part of the very first flag football team at Elmira.

“I’m very excited to keep it going with next year too,” she said. “It’s a great program.”

There were definitely some adjustments to make in hitting the football field and getting used to playing the game.

“It was different, it was very different,” Emersyn said. “I adjusted quickly and with the coaching it went smoothly.”

Playing football has been special for the Express this year.

“It’s exhilarating, just the energy in the locker room afterwards,” just the energy on the sidelines,” Emersyn said. “It’s amazing. It’s just a different type of energy , a different type of sports for girls, it’s exciting.”

It’s a lot of fun for Garvin to be on a team with many of the top female athletes at Elmira.

“I was excited to finally play with all of them,” Emersyn said. “It’s dual sports this year, so I was excited to get a chance to play with the softball girls I haven’t always played with them. It’s very good to see the different variety of girls on the team.”

Garvin has played plenty of sports in her life, but dance is what she loves the most.

“I have played lacrosse and volleyball in the past, run track, always been athletic, and all that really helps with football,” she said. “Dance has always been my main passion. But, it’s great to have flag football on the side, it keeps me in shape and I just enjoy it.”

It’s also fun for Garvin to be on a team with a lot fo the athletes she once played with in other sports.

“I reconnected with a lot of the girls, just reconnecting and making a bond with them again,” she said. “It’s just really different and it’s fun. It’s fun to reconnect and fun to see them at practice.”
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FOOTBALL PHOTO BY BRIAN FEES AND DANCE PHOTO PROVIDED.