New Mexico youth flag football team heading for Washington DC

Nine local youth flag football players will have several banners to represent in Washington, D.C., later this month.

The New Mexico Broncos, a squad comprised of nine boys and two girls ages 10-14, is heading for the nation’s capitol to compete in the NFL Flag All 32 Summer Invitational. Played at the Fields at RFK Campus, the July 29-30 tournament includes one team representing each National Football League franchise.

As their name suggests, the New Mexico squad will represent the Denver Broncos, but coach James Martinez says his team will also represent the Albuquerque’s South Valley and its home state.

“It’s a huge opportunity for these kids,” Martinez said. “Most of them come from low-income areas and are not going to get this kind of opportunity too often. The kids and their parents are hyped.”

Martinez, who has been coaching youth flag football for five years, helped start NFL Flag New Mexico last year under the national umbrella of NFL Flag. The New Mexico league quickly became a hit and now has 750 participants making it the state’s largest flag football organization, Martinez said.

NFL Flag awarded New Mexico as it’s top first-year league in 2022, but Martinez was surprised to have his team selected for the upcoming All 32 Summer Invitational. NFL clubs sent out applications in the spring and each chose one coed team for the tournament.

“They sent out applications to a lot of teams,” Martinez said, “and the Denver Broncos chose us. I was very surprised because I’m sure there were a lot of Colorado-based teams they could have picked, but they liked our story. Our team has a lot of diversity, a lot of different backgrounds, I’m really excited for these kids.”

Selected teams receive a $1,500 stipend and six rooms for two nights at a Washington DC-area hotel. The New Mexico club is raising money to cover additional travel expenses and a third night in DC.

Players and their families are doing individual fundraising and Martinez started a GoFundMe team page with a goal of $8,500. Roughly half of that total had been raised as of Wednesday.

The tournament begins with pool play on July 28 with each team guaranteed at least three games. Pool winners and four runners-up will advance to bracket play.

Martinez said the New Mexico Broncos team was formed from players competing in NFL Flag New Mexico this season. The roster includes Andres Sisneros, Fynlee Ray, Cooper Pina, Santiago Padilla, Juaquin Nunez, Angelo Martinez, Deklyn King, Adalyn Huizar and Mitchell Horst.

“Only one of our group has ever been to DC,” Martinez said. “The farthest east I’ve ever been is San Antonio, so I’m pretty excited, too. We’re hoping to make this a great experience for the kids and hopefully we can represent our community and the Denver Broncos well.”

Contributions can be made to the team’s GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/4909d128