Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Julia Henderson was named the Week 6 Chicago Bears Flag Football Player of the Week. 

The award highlights on-field performance, community involvement and good sportsmanship, according to the Chicago Bears’ official website. Players are nominated by a panel of local coaches.  

The award was well deserved, according to Christian Ledbetter, a gym teacher and coach at OPRF, and the offensive coordinator for the flag football team. “She’s one of the most caring kids you’ll meet,” he said. “She’s always talking to me about ways of getting more people involved with the offense.”

Because Henderson won the award, she was selected to be part of the Illinois All-State Flag Football team. 

Henderson began playing flag football in her sophomore year. “My softball coach actually told me about it, and he introduced me to the old coach,” said Henderson. “It’s really fun trying something new and football is very fun because of the girls on the team they’re all like amazing people and the coaches are awesome.” 

Henderson, who plays quarterback, was nominated for the award because of her stats, according to Ledbetter. As of press time, Henderson had 4,336 passing yards and 55 touchdown passes according to the IHSA website. According to MaxPreps, Henderson is ranked eighth in the state for passing. Flag football lost the final sectional game after winning regionals, with their end of the year record being 13-9.

Henderson found out about the award at a team meeting. The coaches hadn’t told the girls what the meeting was about, letting them believe it was about a playoff game that night, according to Ledbetter.  

“I was so surprised when I found out, but also really happy that I won,” said Henderson.  

In addition to having her flag football team mates and coaches with her when she found out about the award, her softball coach, James Coughlin, was there as well. Henderson is also on the varsity softball team. 

“It was awesome seeing her get the award,” said Coughlin. “Seeing her be recognized, especially outside of OPRF, was really cool. Seeing her be recognized for not only her awesome play on the field but also for her work ethic and being an amazing teammate was just really gratifying.”   

Henderson said she typically plays second base in softball but has played a lot of different positions during her time on the team. “I started playing softball when I was like two years old with my dad teaching me, and playing just kind of brings me back to my childhood a little bit,” she said. “It’s a really fun sport, and it’s something I get to enjoy with my whole family.” 

After high school, Henderson hopes she will be able to keep playing softball and flag football in college through clubs and intramurals. 

“I have no doubt she’s going to do all the things she plans to do,” said Ledbetter. “She’s one of the most driven, passionate kids you’ll ever meet.”