Last year was Ali Adlah’s first as the president of PAL CM Red Devils football, but he has been coaching since 2017, when his oldest daughter, Kaleesi, wanted to join the flag football team.

Kaleesi, now 10 years old and a student at East Moriches Middle School, currently plays on a youth PAL football team. Her team, the Center Moriches Red Devils Suffolk County Police Athletic League football team, recently won the Suffolk County PAL championship after completing an undefeated season, 8-0.

“I have been coaching flag football since 2017—she loves it. She is fast and great at it, too,” her father Adlah said of Kaleesi, who plays defense and has since acquired nickname, Blitz. “That’s what she loves to do—blitz.”

Her sister, Myah, 8, an East Moriches Elementary School student, plays on a PAL youth football team, also with contact; and the youngest sister, Alia, is 4 years old and plays on the youth flag football team. Also, their 9-year-old brother, Mouhammad, played on the 8-year-old team as the captain and quarterback. 

“Myah also loves the contact; she saw her brother play and wanted to join,” Adlah said of his middle daughter. “She is the smallest one on the team, but goes after the ball intensely.”

How did they get involved in the sport? Adlah, a Port Jefferson native, said he played the sport in high school, but went on to become a pediatric occupational therapist. He practiced for 15 years before moving on to geriatrics, and at that point, missed being around children.

“So, I started coaching, and I found my passion. It just resonated with me that this is what I want to do,” he said.

Athleticism runs in the family, with his wife, Melanie, who played for her college softball and volleyball teams at St. Joseph’s University. Their children also play a number of sports, including Kaleesi and Myah, who play lacrosse and soccer; Mouhammad, who also plays soccer; and Kaleesi is also a brown belt in karate.  

Though Adlah doesn’t currently coach his daughters’ teams, he coaches his son’s youth team and is also the president of the PAL league in Center Moriches. The entire family is looking forward to next season, playing again in the PAL youth league. All the children will be on separate teams due to their ages. 

Registrations have opened up to meet the needs of younger children with the flag football program, starting at 3 years old.