When Westfield resident Dave Weikel attended the 2018 International Federation of American Football Flag Football World Championship in Panama, he had never seen the professional version of the sport.
Weikel, director of sports medicine at Franciscan Health in central Indiana, was appointed as one of two athletic trainers for USA Football’s men’s and women’s teams.
What followed was a crash course in this fast-paced sport, which gave him the opportunity to broaden his horizons.
Weikel has served as an athletic trainer and sports medicine physician for the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team and the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. This year, he will compete in the 2024 World Championships in Finland, where a total of 660 athletes from 32 nations will compete for gold from August 27-30.
Weikel participated in the 2018 championships in Panama and the 2021 championships in Israel.
“When you go to an event like the World Championships, you get to meet a lot of different teams and see how they do things,” Weikel explained. “You get to interact with medical personnel from other countries and learn from them. You also get to teach them something. That’s a nice side effect to the games themselves. You build relationships with the coaches and players, you get to connect with people all over the world and you get to ask them for advice on certain things.”
Although physical contact in flag football is limited by rules, the game is still very athletic, meaning injuries are inevitable — though generally less so than in tackle football. When Weikel serves at flag football events, he is tasked with a lot of rehab and injury assessment.
During the recent training camp in Charlotte, North Carolina, he focused on recovery and soft tissue work.
Athletic trainers do a lot of taping and bracing for training camps and games, the same services Weikel provides to local high school athletic programs through the Franciscan Health Sports Medicine program.
“The players are very athletic,” Weikel explained. “Just watching them, you need a lot of agility and quickness. You need a lot of body control. Flag football has a lot of similarities to regular tackle football, but there are also a lot of differences, just because of the nature of the game. Some of the skills are transferable, but not all of them. That goes both ways. Tackle football players are not always good flag football players and vice versa.”
Flag football will be an Olympic event at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. If all goes according to plan, Weikel will be at those games supporting the U.S. teams.
“It has definitely sped things up, knowing it will be an Olympic event in 2028,” he explained. “The ultimate goal was always to have tackle football in the Olympics. In reality, given the nature of the sport, the physicality and the recovery time needed, it’s just not feasible. As flag football became more popular, particularly with its growth overseas, the focus shifted to getting it to Olympic level. Since it was announced last year that it would be in the 2028 Olympics, there has been an explosion in popularity and interest.”
The U.S. teams are doing well. The men’s team has won the last four world championships since 2014, while the women’s team has won the last two championships.
“These events are a really cool experience, especially when you travel to the different countries,” Weikel said. “Hopefully we’ll hear the national anthem at the medal ceremony. It never gets old. It’s really incredible to be a part of.”
Weikel said he would like to see Franciscan’s sports medicine program become part of national tournaments and events.
“What I’m doing with USA Football is part of the bigger picture of where we need to go with our sports medicine program at Franciscan,” he explained. “I’ve been very fortunate to have been involved in many of the major events here in Indy, and I want our staff at Franciscan to be able to have the same experience. That’s what I want to do with our program, to position ourselves to be able to participate in various national governing bodies and high-level events that come here to Indianapolis to participate in. That helps take a program to another level when we can say we’re providing the medical support for XYZ tournament.”
Learn more about USA Football at usafootball.com.
