Last spring, Athletic Director Michelle Noeth sent a survey to gauge interest in girls flag football. There was interest, but no one expected the brand new sport — originally planned to be no-cut and varsity only — to have almost 50 athletes try out.
“We were walking in a little bit blind,” Noeth said. “We knew we had some interest, we just didn’t know how much. So to see that amount was really exciting.”
Tryouts occurred Monday, August 19 through Thursday, August 22. Based on their performance at practice, the 36 girls who made the cut have been split into JV and varsity with a fluctuating 14-15 girls on each team.
“I commend all these girls for taking the courage to be trailblazers and saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to try out,’” Noeth said.
Going into tryouts, most of the girls were unsure about what practice would look like. Senior Karla Araracap explained that the girls performed drills focusing on footwork, throwing, and flag-pulling exercises.
“The majority of us hadn’t played flag football before, so we were jumping into new territory,” Karla said. “Now a few days in we’ve been getting more competitive at practice. We’ve been putting in a lot of effort during the drills and we motivate each other a lot.”
Throughout the week, Head Coach Gabe Stewart led exercises on the fundamentals of flag football, reviewed the rule book, and ran plays so athletes could get a feel for a game.
“Flag football is about quickness, agility, and athleticism,” Stewart said, “We’ve been doing drills that measure not only their raw athleticism, but their skills on the field.”
Girls flag football has a variety of different players, ranging from those who know how to catch a football to ones who have never thrown a ball before. However, there is excitement from a lot of the girls for having the opportunity to practice these skills in the first place.
“The aspect of being able to play a sport that is normally only seen as a boy’s sport is something that a lot of people like,” Karla said. “There’s a lot of stigma around men only being able to play football, and people want to make a change in sports.”
Compared to other sports that people have been doing club for and have a lot of experience with, flag football pushes players to develop new skills that might not come as naturally to them. This creates a different energy to the sport, as players have to put in more effort to learn skills such as flag-pulling or offensive footwork.
“It’s kind of exciting being able to see this new glaze of being able to learn something completely new, and seeing the aha moments,” Noeth said.
Before tryouts began, one worry from coaches was that adding flag football could lead to athletes leaving their current sport. However, Noeth and the athletic department decided to give it a shot, as it could draw in new athletes who never tried out for a sport. Freshman Charlotte Wolfe agrees and explains why continuing to build a flag football program is crucial.
“I think this team is important because it allows girls who didn’t have a chance to play flag football in middle or elementary school to get that experience,” Charlotte said. “We can build off that to create a bigger community from this new sport.”
The team’s league has 11 other schools, although this number may fluctuate based on interest. If other teams cannot fill their rosters, some matches will have to be cut.
The first non-league game will be a scrimmage on Monday, September 9, against Mountain View. League games start on Monday, September 30. Teams will play two games in one day, with three teams at each school. Freshman Fernanda Mendieta summarizes the main reasons why so many girls showed up at tryouts and are ready for the season to start.
“I tried out because it’s the first girls’ flag football team and I wanted to be a part of that history, it’s a big moment,” Fernanda said. “I think that’s why everyone was so excited to be there.”
