Please help grow Girls Flag Football and offer the opportunity to play to all interested as it develops skills that will serve these student athletes well in the future and skills that our society so desperately needs right now – collaboration, compassion, and courage.
My name is Coach Chris, and I have been fortunate enough to be a part of the team that helped start the Girls Flag Football Program at Oswego High School in Illinois and Granite Bay High School in California. What a wonderful experience! Girls flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the country! Over 500,000 girls aged 6-17 were playing flag in 2023 - a 63% jump from 2019. When it became an official sport in Illinois three years ago, only 21 teams signed up. This year, the IHSA website shows roughly 200 plus teams! It is going to be an official sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and the NFL is behind it 100%. Colleges and universities are starting to field teams as well. I have seen the demand first hand – in California, we went from 50 players coming out in year one to 158 in year two.
Over the years as I have coached various sports, it has been disheartening to see the number of students participating in sports dropping. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, 40% of teen girls are not actively participating in a sport, and teen boys have 1.3 million more sports opportunities than girls. Additionally, a Women in Sports survey found that more than 1 million teenage girls, 43% who once considered themselves athletes, dropped out of a sport after elementary school. Girls flag football helps combat these challenges, and it was terrific to watch it firsthand: students trying something new and supporting each other as they grow, teammates of all different backgrounds celebrating the success of each other and picking each other up if they fall, players building confidence and courage regardless of the obstacles ahead, and leaders stepping forward to ensure positivity and inclusivity as new bonds are built and old bonds strengthened. I have coached thousands of students over almost 30 years, but there is just something special about Girls Flag Football.
SD308 and its Board in Illinois did an amazing job pulling together the resources to make Girls Flag Football an official IHSA sport this season. However, there is still much work to do to bring this unparalleled opportunity to more student athletes and families.
Your support will help with so many aspects of growing the game, including but not limited to the following:
- Adding more levels of teams at the high school and junior high schools so more girls can play! Currently, we only have a Varsity and JV and only at the high school level which limits the roster to 50 total players and precludes junior high school athletes.
- Providing more paid stipend positions to hire coaches. We only have three stipends this year for the Varsity and JV combined (50 players). The average high school boys football program has 10-11 coaching positions with stipends.
- Funding equipment, jerseys, transportation, and other program costs to enable all who try out to be a part of the team even if just a practice player! Right now, we are limited to 25 players on a team; many boys football high school programs roster up to 200 players across all levels.
- Creating leagues for junior high players to participate and for the off season for high school players.
- Providing funding and scholarships to help students and families who cannot afford athletic fees or league registration fees.
- Field availability and creation. Currently, our Varsity and JV share one practice field that includes part of the infield of a baseball diamond.
- Support for resources to help with educational tutoring (school first always!), recruiting and college guidance, etc.
- Funding for equipment and materials needed to expand the program.
- Funding to attend tournaments, conferences, workshops, trainings, etc.
- Providing camps to the community to give younger players the opportunity to try the game and be mentored by older players.
Girls Flag Football is all about working hard, doing your best, and having fun! Let’s spread that opportunity as far and wide as we can and make sure the playing field is level with all other sports. Thanks for the time and help!
** Not affiliated or operated by any specific school district or school/team.
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