Football was in Maria Papadakos’s blood long before she became Fort Hamilton’s flag football quarterback.
The senior grew up around the game as her brother Petros played football at Fort Hamilton and her other cousins ran the gridiron back in Boston. Papadakos recalled joining in the backyard games at family holiday parties, barbecues and gatherings in an attempt to fit in with them. She was a regular in their Thanksgiving Day contest.
“They are all older than me,” she said. “To fit in and feel like you are one of them is pretty cool.”
The skills that made her fit in then are the same that allowed her to stand out when she got to play quarterback for Fort Hamilton.
Once Papadakos heard Fort Hamilton was getting a flag football team, her parents told her to try out for the newly created squad knowing full well the impact she could make. Coach Richard Sherry immediately saw that this girl certainly didn’t throw like one thanks to all those games with her family. Papadakos can easily and accurately throw the ball 40–45 yards down field.
“It’s developed into her throwing the ball better than most boys.” Sherry said. “She threw it once and I said, ‘Ok we will be holding on to you.’ ”
Papadakos, who is also on Fort Hamilton’s basketball and volleyball teams, played behind senior Virginia Mancuso as a freshman. She’d often come in to throw the deep ball, but picked up a few things from Mancuso.
“It was a good learning experience,” she said. “My arm was better for the long ball and hers was short, so it was good to pick up how to play that short game.”
Papadakos got the starting job and ran with it. She led the Tigers to a second consecutive city championship game appearance and lost in the semifinals the last two years. As a sophomore, she threw six touchdown passes and ran for one in a semifinal win over Lehman. She tossed three more scores in the final, but it wasn’t enough.
Her skill and success on the field earned her flag football’s Public School Athletic League’s Wingate Award earlier this month, before she heads to Sacred Heart to study nursing in the fall. Not only was Papadakos a great individual talent, but a strong leader as well. Her skills and guidance allowed her teammates to get better and learn the game quicker.
“It’s a little intimidating to the other girls when Maria is throwing to them, so they learn how to catch pretty quickly — because if they don’t they will be hurt,” Sherry joked.
It all started innocently enough with a few tosses of the football with her family, but it bloomed into much more for Papadakos and the Tigers. Fort Hamilton now has one of the top programs in the growing sport.
If you are a young boy or girl, don’t be afraid to pick up a football, baseball, soccer ball, or any of the others. You never know where it may take you.
