Marin Heat is hosting tryouts at COM this weekend

The Marin Heat, a youth flag football club, hosts tryouts for girls and boys ages 9 to 14 on Saturday afternoons from 4 to 6 p.m. at the College of Marin baseball field.

The Heat is a competitive flag football club founded by CJ LaBoy, Graham Jenkin, Mike Zlatoper and Joe Sheeline.

“We are all girls’ dads and also had sons who played flag and tackle football for the Southern Marin Broncos,” said LaBoy, who is also an NFL agent. “So we all came together and formed Marin Heat. It’s probably been in the works for a little over two years.”

LaBoy initially started his own club so that his young sons Ryker and Ronin could continue playing after their Next Level Flag Football season ended. Two Marin-based clubs – Marin Elite and the original Marin Heat – merged to form the current club earlier this year.

Flag football has become increasingly popular in recent years, and several middle and high schools around Marin now field teams. Novato, San Marin, Terra Linda, San Rafael and San Domenico are among the Marin high schools with flag football programs.

LaBoy said more than 200 kids have signed up so far for this weekend’s tryouts, including about 70 girls. Registration is expected to close on Thursday evening or Friday morning. The club plans to hold a makeup tryout on November 1 at 4 p.m. at a location to be determined. For registration information, visit marineheat.com.

“Registering is very easy and costs nothing,” LaBoy said. “Everyone will receive a fair player evaluation. We’re looking for great kids with good attitudes who are excited about playing flag football.”

Games are five-on-five, with each player carrying two flags. The playing field is about a third the size of a football field – 30 meters wide, with the end zones on each sideline. The game is played in two 10-minute halves.

The club aims to take part in one tournament per month between February and June or July. Marin Heat teams have recently competed in tournaments in Santa Cruz – where a 12U team took first place and a 10U team playing in the 12U took third place – and at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. According to LaBoy, three of the four Marin Heat teams won their tournaments in Santa Clara.

The club will take part in a major tournament in Phoenix next month, followed by another in Dublin in December. The club plans to send some teams to the World Cup in Tampa, Florida in early 2025.