ASU women’s flag football club team hosts first youth camp as sport’s popularity skyrockets

PHOENIX (AZFamily) —Arizona is one of the states leading the way in the expansion of flag football, especially for girls!

Interest in flag football is exploding as it’s become well-known as a potentially safer alternative to tackle football.

ASU’s brand new women’s club team is gearing up for its first season, and on Saturday, they hosted a youth camp in Mesa that was sold out.

Over 100 middle and high school athletes came out to the first camp by ASU’s women’s flag football club team. It just became an official club team a couple of months ago.

“We’ve worked hard for a year to make this club team a reality and we wanted to give these athletes an experience like no other,” said Sierra Smith, co-founder of ASU’s women’s flag football club team.

Girls in grades 7-12 from schools across the Valley participated Saturday. They ran drills and learned new skills from college coaches.

Flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports today, with the help of the NFL. NFL Flag is a program with more than 600,000 youth athletes nationwide, 25% whom are girls.

Just last year, it became a sanctioned varsity sport in Arizona.

“I used to play football when I was younger and my whole family is involved around football. So, it really just inspired me to do it,” said Breana Saunders, a flag football player at the camp.

Flag football’s popularity prompted it to become an Olympic sport in 2028 for both men and women.

“I want to do it because no matter what size you are, I’m a very short person, there’s always going to be a position for you on the field no matter what,” said Rhiana Gurnani, a flag football player at the camp.

Excitement is building as ASU’s team looks to kick off its first season in January.

“It’s just the beginning and we’re very excited to see where the sport goes. It’s a popular sport right now and we just can’t wait to see what happens at ASU,” said Sophia Smith, co-founder of ASU’s women’s flag football club team.

The hope is to make the camp an annual event. ASU’s team tryouts are in September, and they want a roster of 35 athletes.

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