Chuckie Magee Flag Football League Plays To Varying Abilities

Saturday, Nov. 5, was a beautiful fall day in Manheim. The sun shone in the parking lot at Manheim Brethren in Christ Church on North Penryn Road, and the breeze brew subtly through the colored leaves.

Inside, however, the fun was fierce and so was the competition. The 20 members of the Chuckie Magee flag football teams and half a dozen cheerleaders enjoyed the last game of the season. The league was created earlier this year for participants ages 21 to 40 with varying abilities and disabilities. The Cowboys in blue and the Eagles in green lined up for play after play.

When the Eagles scored, a volunteer played "Fly Eagles Fly" and members of the Eagles team began to sing. Cowboys coach Randy Samuels quickly approached a reporter on the sidelines, saying, "You need to put this in this article, so everyone reads it. This song they are playing now is officially banned from this league." Laughter ensued, and Risa Paskoff, executive director of Aaron's Acres, which is the parent organization of the league, said, "Randy is brutal. He is in everyone's face. He is just so much fun, and everyone gives it right back to him."

As Paskoff finished talking, Eagles team member JJ intercepted a football and ran the length of the gym for a touchdown. Cheers erupted. "That was great," Paskoff told JJ. "Good for you!"

Following the final game, a banquet was held at the church. Awards, trophies, and medals were given out, and participants, parents, coaches and volunteers, including Randy's wife, Doris, and Chuck and Bev Magee, parents of Chuckie, for whom the league is named, enjoyed pizza from Jersey Mike's Subs and Rita's Italian Ice. "The church has been wonderful - so supportive and helpful," said Paskoff, who added that sponsors who have contributed to expenses include Costanzo Wealth Management, 4 Cole's KIDS, Bomberger's, Executive Printing, and Lanco Federal Credit Union.

The league has been so successful, the group is talking about organizing a similar program around a different sport during the winter season from January to March, which will be followed in April by Challenge Baseball. "These (participants) are older than 21, so this was a nice way to segue into serving an older group, which is where we want to go," explained Paskoff.

Aaron's Acres will be taking part in the ExtraGive 2022 online fundraising event to be held on Friday, Nov. 18. On that day, representatives of the organization will visit several county locations, including Grand Central Bagel from 7 to 10 a.m., Jersey Mike's Subs at the Belmont Shoppes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Dale High Leadership Center from 3 to 6 p.m., and Tellus 360 from 2 to 7 p.m. Readers who wish to support the organization during the ExtraGive may visit http://www.extragive.org.

More information about Aaron's Acres is available at http://www.aaronsacres.org.