Oxbridge flag football improving thanks to strong senior class and first-year coach Remington Young

WEST PALM BEACH — With a new coach comes a new culture for the Oxbridge flag football team, and this year, it’s all about family.

Remington Young has taken over a program that has struggled to field teams in past years, and led the ThunderWolves to two wins to start the season, with a matchup against undefeated Spanish River looming Tuesday. 

Thanks to a strong senior class, Oxbridge has 24 players on this year's roster, a far cry from two years ago when the ThunderWolves sometimes didn't have enough players to compete.

“I’ve been on the team since I’ve been a freshman so I’ve been able to see this program grow,” senior slot receiver/inside linebacker Sophie Arlosoroff said. “In my sophomore year, we had a very small roster and sometimes didn’t have enough girls to play a game. We had to go running through the halls to beg people to play a game for us. My fellow captain, Kayla Brusie, and I worked on recruiting girls and it’s been exciting to see the team grow.”

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The team's bond was on display in the season-opening 6-0 win over Suncoast earlier this month. With the game tied in overtime, and the ThunderWolves on the the 1-yard line, sophomore quarterback Serena Faraj told Young, "I got you coach," before returning to the field and rushing in for the game-winning score. 

“From the first day of practice to our first game, every single person has improved from the freshmen to the senior class,” Young said. 

That togetherness that Young has brought was missing from past ThunderWolves teams.

“It’s an interesting shift with the new coaching staff, but I think the team has gelled better this year than years past,” Arlosoroff said. “He’s (Coach Young) very supportive and it’s a very different dynamic now, and I feel like we’re all a family and he harps on that a lot.”

Young has coached in multiple states for over 10 years and has learned plenty that has prepared him for this new role. 

“I coached in Pittsburgh for two years and I’ve been coaching in Florida for 10 so I’d say all of that has led to me being a head coach and understanding what players need help with in different areas,” Young said. 

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Young, a high school running back, is the running backs for Jupiter Christian's football team and also coached at Glades Day under Mike Schlechter.

“He is a great guy, super knowledgeable of the game and brings a level of energy and excitement every day to practice,” Oxbridge Athletic Director Pat Houlihan said of Young. “You can see the team’s improvement after one week of practice.”

In order for the ThunderWolves to prosper in the coming years, Young believes it all comes down to that family mindset. 

“We have to trust the process, we’re going to have losses but we just have to bounce back and understand that,” Young said. “For us to be a contender, we have the combination of speed and defense that might be the best in the county, and if our offense can step up a little, we’ll be in good shape.”