The Barstow School Football Team from Ningbo is the runner-up in the U19 group at the recent 2019 NFL China Flag Football Tournament on Dec 8. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

The Barstow School Football Team from Ningbo was the runner-up in the U19 group at the recent 2019 NFL China Flag Football Tournament.

Flag football is the same as standard American football but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier to end a down, and physical contact is not permitted between players

The sport has gained wide popularity among young people from more than 30 countries across the world.

Founded in September 2018, the Barstow School Football Team is the only high school football team in Ningbo and the only full equipped high school football team in Zhejiang.

The team's head coach, Huang Yongjin, graduated from Western Oregon University and is a national intermediate coach of American football recognized by the General Administration of Sport of China.

This year, the team advanced to the final match after beating five other teams from cities such as Suzhou and Shanghai in East China.

In the final match, it was defeated by WanBang RAMS team from Harbin.

Lin Yitao, a new member of the team, said he was honored to take first in East China and second nationally.

"With this team, I feel at home, and each member is like a brother to me," said Huang Letao, a veteran player.