In recognition of Black History Month, we will periodically feature African Americans from across the Valley and stories of their leadership, achievements and lives. This profile is on Elliott Giles, president of the Youngstown Youth Flag Football Association and former Youngstown State wide receiver.
When Elliott Giles graduated from Youngstown State University in 2000, he had two options: he could go back to his hometown of Miami, Fla. or he could stay in a city he had grown to love.
“Right out of college, my dad told me not to come back to Miami,” Giles, of Boardman, said. “I’d been away from home since high school and technically, I’d have to start over. In Youngstown, I’d built relationships and bonds with people.”
The wide receiver was recruited by Jim Tressel and played football for the Penguins from 1997-99. He graduated with a degree in elementary education from YSU.
Giles said he was fortunate enough to earn a football scholarship, but he learned far more from Tressel off the field, than on the field. Tressel helped build his interest in YSU and the surrounding area, and learned to love it, he said.
“That’s one thing Tressel instilled in us,” Giles said. “He helped us gain an appreciation for Youngstown. It helped me understand the Valley, understand the people.”
Giles stayed in the Valley after graduation and took it upon himself to combine two of his passions, childhood education and football. Giles is the president of the Youngstown Youth Flag Football Association, and has seen his nonprofit organization grow from 80 youths to more than 500 players last spring, he said.
Giles said his interest in flag football grew out of playing it himself. He began playing right out of college, where he saw just how serious participants took the sport.
He founded the adult league more than five years ago to get flag football started in Youngstown, Giles said. Once that took off, he asked himself how he could get children involved in the game he grew to love, he said. His answer: the YYFFA.
The coed, tri-county league plays weekly in the spring and fall at Boardman High School. He said his biggest pitch to parents is that this is a culturally diverse league made up of youths from Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull counties.
“We don’t segregate. We put kids with kids they wouldn’t know normally,” Giles said. “That’s part of the appeal. [Parents] love the fact that their son ‘Johnny’ can play with someone other than the kid they play with all the time down the street.”
The league is broken up into four age divisions: 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12, and each team is made up of eight to 10 players. The program is sanctioned by the National Football League, which provides the jerseys, flags and footballs.
Giles said some parents are unaware of how flag football can impact their children. Flag football has all of the athletic benefits of regular football, including agility training, endurance and strength, he said.
“Flag football encompasses all of those attributes, without all the contact,” Giles said. “It’s just one of those sports that kids can have a good time.”
Flag football is also a great way to fight childhood obesity—a battle Giles hopes to win. Leadership also plays a huge role in Giles’ program, he said, and he has encouraged members of his league to volunteer at local charities, such as the Salvation Army and Rescue Mission.
“Not only do we want to fight juvenile obesity, but we also want to create strong minded leaders in the community through volunteering our time,” Giles said. “…we want to give them a sense of appreciation of the community. We want them to know what makes Youngstown special. Doing that will only make leaders out of all of them.”
The league recently branched out to create a sister league in Salem because of the overwhelming demand for flag football. Giles said he also created a new traveling program, which will give players the opportunity to travel to cities like Boston, Columbus and Baltimore to play flag football competitively.
Giles said creating the program has allowed him to meet a variety of people, including local celebrities. He said last year, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan stopped by the league to introduce himself because he heard about the league and wanted to check it out.
“By doing this flag football, it has allowed me to meet so many people and deal with so many relationships,” Giles said.
The YYFFA recently obtained its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, and can now set up incentive-based and scholarship programs in schools. He said the area schools have been very helpful and have allowed him to talk to the students about flag football.
For more information on YYFFA, www.yffayouth.net/.
