SLIPPERY ROCK — For 15 years, NFL Flag Football has flourished in the Youngstown area.

The youth league for ages 3 to 13 — part of the only national flag football circuit supported and sanctioned by the NFL — began with 80 players. It had more than 800 players last year, roughly 400 for its spring season and 600 for its fall campaign.

“It just grew and grew,” league director and founder Elliott Giles said. “Sometimes the membership doubled one year to the next, even tripled.”

Now an NFL Flag Football league franchise is coming to Slippery Rock.

The Western Pennsylvania Flag Football Association will make its debut in late May. Games will be played at Slippery Rock University’s Mihalik-Thompson Stadium and surrounding facilities.

Giles will oversee that league as well, with assistance from Mark Metzka, a Slippery Rock resident who works in the SRU admissions office. Originally from the Youngstown area, Metzka had a son play in the league.

“There’s nothing like this in our area,” Metzka said. “The NFL supports it and the league is well-run. There are tournaments all over the country and this year’s championships were held at the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas.”

Regular season play is coed. There are boys and girls NFL Flag Football tournaments available after the season.

All skill levels are welcome to join the non-contact league, which has a mission statement of providing a fun way to prepare kids for the game of football. The WPFFA will consist of age divisions and games are 5-on-5, with roster limits of 10 to a team. Games are played on Sundays and parents serve as volunteer coaches.

“If we get 100 kids signed up for this spring season, I’d be satisfied,” Giles said of the WPFFA. “I know the league will snowball from there.”

Giles is a former Youngstown State University football player and is a member of the YSU Hall of Fame. He now works as a teacher.

“I played under Jim Tressel from 1997-99 and started playing flag football after I graduated, just to keep that competitive edge,” Giles said. “When I realized how fun it was, and being a teacher by trade, I wanted to find a way to get kids involved.

“That’s how I got involved with NFL Flag Football. It just exploded throughout the Youngstown area. I think we can get good numbers in Butler County,. too.”

Metzka coaches AAU basketball with Butler resident Joe Lewandowski and the PK Flash during the summer. The WPFFA season will consist of five regular season games and one playoff weekend.

“I’ll be there to help out when I can,” Metzka said. “We like the games to be played on (artificial) turf fields to avoid sloppy, muddy conditions.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the league, or registering a youth to play, may visit www.nflflagwesternpa.com.

All players receive a reversible NFL jersey, belt and flags.