With temperatures cooling and leaves falling, there is only one thing on many people’s minds: football. Whether it is supporting the local high school team, tailgating, in-stadium team traditions, or a seat in the living room with unlimited drinks and snacks, Americans across the country will be cheering their favorite teams to victory. As Sports Brief and American Football International have discussed its prominence in the sports fandom landscape, there’s little argument to football being America’s favorite pastime.

Despite football’s growth with respect to fans and viewership, tackle football participation is declining as outlined in a 2020 Forbes article, with injury and long-term health concerns among the reasons. To reverse the trend and bring more fans to the game, the NFL is encouraging flag football, even advocating for its inclusion in the Olympics. Despite this recent announcement, RedZone Football, based in North Liberty, is ahead of the curve.

Opened in 2010 by former Iowa Hawkeye, Tyler Blum, RedZone Football aims to teach skill and character development through flag football to support young players in pursuit of their dreams in football. By 2015, RedZone realized amazing growth and offered programs to 600 participants. Currently, Coach Blum offers leagues, camps, and advanced training year-round and in multiple locations to approximately 1,000 players.

To support RedZone’s growth, Coach Blum contacted the UISRM program in 2018 to recruit energetic students who were passionate about football. After much planning, the first three for-credit interns were selected for roles in administration, marketing, and coaching. Since then, more than 20 students have interned with RedZone to earn independent field experience credit toward their degree.

During the summer 2022 sessions, five students interned with RedZone Football in the positions of coaching, league operations, and social media. This fall, two students are interning and earning experience in aforementioned areas but also in roster management, officiating, and developmental instruction. Below are comments from summer and current intern, Evan Miller, on his experiences at RedZone and how they will lead to future success in sport and recreation.

Evan Miller (ex. BS 2023): During my summer internship, I helped with many administrative activities such as monitoring league registrations and taking inventory of jerseys, footballs, and other equipment. In addition, I helped with a project we titled ‘Ten-Year Brag’, where we tracked RedZone's growth as a program from year one up until the current season. 

My current position at RedZone is the Lead League Operations Intern for fall programming. However, my responsibilities go beyond the league. Foremost, I assist Tyler with scheduled registration reports, development of team ratings, and operational tasks such as setup and teardown of the fields. In addition, I step in as a referee when needed.

I feel that RedZone has helped me become more versatile as a professional and made me become more adaptable to adverse situations. RedZone has also helped me learn areas of sport business outside of operations such as sales, marketing, administration, and more. Lastly, I have been able to improve my technological skills which is something that is valuable in all sectors of sport and recreation.

Many previous RedZone interns are continuing their dreams of working in football. Two are currently pursuing employment with NCAA Division I football programs and five others continue to train and compete. However, others have found opportunities in sales with the Chicago Cubs, in social media, and with start-up companies. The learning opportunities for students through RedZone Football are valuable and transferable.

Thank you to Coach Blum for providing aspiring sport and recreation professionals the opportunity to contribute to young football players’ dreams while acquiring valuable field experience. The UISRM Program looks forward to continuing its support of RedZone Football for years to come.