BOISE, Idaho — Four years from now, flag football will be part of the world's biggest stage for athletes: the Los Angeles Olympics. Flag football is a version of the sport in which players pull colorful flags from their opponents' hips instead of tackling them, before flag football made its full debut at the Olympics.
Here in the Treasure Valley, it's young girls' turn to step onto the competition bench for the first time.
The Treasure Valley Women's Flag Football League is partnering with Optimist Youth Football to launch a new women's non-contact flag football league. For the first time in Idaho, girls ages 8 to 13 will play flag football in their own league.
It's something Lauren Wilson and Sam Hayes wish they had when they were growing up in the Gem State.
“Growing up as a woman, the sports I could play were limited,” Wilson said. “I played everything I could, but I felt like something was missing.”
As co-directors, Wilson and Hayes told KTVB that watching this new league is a dream come true.
“I can now achieve what I envision,” Hayes said. “I always went out and played with my brother and all of his friends. We played powderpuff in high school, and I always imagined being able to play powderpuff for a longer period of time. But now it's possible.”
According to the NFL, approximately 474,000 young women between the ages of 6 and 17 played flag football in 2022. It is reported to have increased by 63% from 2019.
The women's flag football league here at home is played in a 5-on-5 non-contact format.
“We mainly focus on football skills. We teach them football terminology, the right terminology, the right moves, the right movements and how to protect themselves. And most of all, just to have fun,” Wilson said. Told. “You learn about teamwork, you learn about sisterhood, you learn about communication.”
They added that there is a home for everyone in flag football.
“We want to instill in these little girls, and you know, young men and necessarily women, that it's possible to play in a male-dominated sport,” Hayes said. he said.
Practice kicks off on April 15th, with the actual league itself starting on April 29th.
For more information and registration locations, please visit the Optimist Youth Football website here.
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