As many of you know (or maybe don't), I've been coaching girls flag football for several years. All four of my daughters have played, and we've been involved with GirlPower Flag Football here in Northeast Florida almost since the beginning.
It's been incredible watching it grow. When my girls first started, it was much smaller, with only three grade brackets, maybe 100 girls playing on Sunday. Now GirlPower runs three seasons a year (we skip the summer because it's just too hot in Florida). Our biggest season is the fall, from August through the beginning of November, when we'll have around 500-600 girls from kindergarten through 8th grade playing, plus another 150-200 high school girls.
The exciting part is that the growth isn't stopping here.
GirlPower is expanding into new communities around the country. If you're in Mobile or Hoover, Alabama; St. Petersburg, Florida; Decatur, Georgia; North Jersey; Mooresville or South Charlotte, North Carolina; Fort Mill or Greenville, South Carolina; Knoxville or Franklin, Tennessee; West Texas or Dallas; or Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania,there's already a GirlPower league either taking registrations or getting ready for its next season.
And if your city isn't on that list, there's good news too. GirlPower is looking to expand even more, and they're offering opportunities for people to start leagues in their own communities. If you've ever thought about bringing girls flag football to your area, now is a great time to look into it.
I really think we're watching something special happen. Girls flag football is now considered the fastest-growing female sport in the country. We're seeing more states sanction it as a high school sport every year, and colleges are adding programs and scholarships. Virginia, where high school girls' flag football is still in its pilot phase, the growth has been impressive. More schools are adding teams every season, participation continues to increase, and it seems like it's only a matter of time before the sport becomes fully established statewide. That's the pattern we're seeing all over the country.
We've already had girls from our local GirlPower league earn scholarships to smaller colleges, which is awesome to see. But now we've reached another milestone. We have our first player from GirlPower who played high school flag football here in Florida receive an offer from the University of Nebraska. I don't think that'll be the last one either.
If you've got daughters, granddaughters, nieces, or know families looking for another sport, I'd encourage you to check it out. It's competitive, it's a lot of fun, and it's opening doors that simply didn't exist a few years ago.
It's been amazing watching this sport go from something people barely talked about to something that's exploding across the country. I can't wait to see where it is five years from now.
Comments
Steven Godfrey has teased a project he's doing around girls flag football. I guess the NFL is investing heavily in it behind (or in some cases not-so-behind) the scenes.
I have three young daughters, so it's definitely something I've been watching from afar.
Anyways, Thanks for sharing.
The NFL is all in on flag football especially for girls. Teams partially fund the startup of leagues, give away uniforms have team personal, cheerleaders, mascots and even players come out to games. They allow the use of their facilities for tournaments. For "nfl flag" leagues all teams are NFL named team, my girls have played On Jags, chargers, Green Bay, lions, 49ers among others.
The NFL views girls flag football in several ways one kids girls a chance to play a sport with other girls, two gets girls interested in football which means maybe they'll go watch a game if there's a team nearby maybe they'll bring their families to go watch a game, but three, and when I personally think after speaking to Jacksonville Jaguars personnel is the long-term play when these girls grow up and have their own families, they're gonna encourage their kids boys or girls to play football, but also go to games be lifelong fans and expand the marketable base for the NFL.
I would be interested in starting a league in VA. I live in Western Loudoun.
Do you have a contact who heads up their expansion efforts?
NFL Flag already runs girls flag football in Loudoun. Some of the younger age groups they get mixed gender but 6th grade on I believe they have full rosters all female.
Females in Flag Loudoun
The issue we have seen with all these coed leagues is ven if they have all girls divisions is so much of the attention still focused on the boys or coed divisions. Girlpower is focused on girls only, the messaging, the goals, the rules.
Email me and I can get you connected.
Coachrobbgp@gmail
Bridgewater university has an ncaa sanctioned flag football team this year!
Just added Norman Oklahoma to the Girlpower family.
My daughter got to play in a charity game her last semester (before heading to college) and said she loved it. Fast forward two semesters and its offered in her former high-school as a club sport for girls. Getting lots of support as well.
At Roanoke Catholic they play girls flag for homecoming week seniors vs juniors.