海角大神

On an overcast morning in late August, more than 30 girls entering grades 1-8 gather聽behind Edison Intermediate School in Westfield, New Jersey. The fields are home to a new聽summer camp: Blue Devil flag football.

Coaches Matthew Andzel and Sara Liptack, along with two female high school students, lead the players in a series of warmup exercises. Some of the participants giggle as they skip and side-shuffle. Afterward, Mr. Andzel shows the girls how to hold, throw, and catch the brightly colored聽footballs. The girls do a relay race before taking a short break. Then the coaches do some drills, instructing players to catch the ball and keep running.

Ms. Liptack鈥檚 9-year-old daughter, Lyra, is among the participants in the camp. 鈥淚 like how there are so many girls here, and some are so good,鈥� Lyra says. 鈥淭he older ones help the little ones. It鈥檚 fantastic.鈥�

A modified version of American football, flag football has been gaining popularity not just in聽Westfield, but across the country. Since 2015, participation by 6-to-12-year-olds has increased 38%, according to NFL Flag. Tackle football among that age group has dropped by 29%.

鈥淚n the last 10 years, it鈥檚 boomed,鈥� says Russ Crawford, author of 鈥淲omen鈥檚 American Football:聽Breaking Barriers On and Off the Gridiron.鈥� 鈥淔ootball is the most popular sport in America, and the girls want to play.鈥�

In the United States, traditional tackle football is available to girls, with teams such as Utah Girls聽Football in Salt Lake. Girls also play the contact version of the sport on boys鈥� teams. 鈥淲ith the growth of the concussion crisis, flag is a more socially and medically [secure] way for girls to play,鈥� explains Dr. Crawford, a professor of history at Ohio Northern聽University.

Typically played with teams of five to eight players, flag football involves advancing the ball down the聽field by either passing or running. The sport reduces physical contact by replacing tackling with聽the pulling of flags worn by the players.聽

According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in Sports Health in 2021, youth tackle athletes had a median of 378 head impacts per season. Flag football athletes averaged just eight a season.

In addition to being safer than tackle football, flag football is also more accessible to a wider group of聽people. You don鈥檛 need to be huge to play it (agility, speed, and strategy are more important than size and strength), and you don鈥檛 need a lot of expensive equipment.

鈥淭his is something new and it鈥檚 a fresh start,鈥� says Ms. Liptack. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so cool to see kids trying聽something new and loving it and having fun.鈥�

Leveling the playing field

John Dugan Jr., a former police officer, helped create Westfield PAL Flag Football in 1998 for youth who wanted to play but didn鈥檛 want to compete in tackle football. Since then, the organization has grown from 67 players to approximately 1,000. Recently, Westfield PAL added a new program for girls.

鈥淲e saw a need where more and more girls were playing. To try to level out the playing field for聽them, we thought we should have this program,鈥� explains Mr. Dugan, president of the Police Athletic League.

Westfield parents Kelly and David Hantman helped launch Westfield PAL Girls Flag Football League. 鈥淥ur family wanted to open up access to this great sport, so girls can decide if they would like to try it,鈥� explains Ms. Hantman, whose daughter was among the girls who played in the league in 2022. 鈥淪o far, it鈥檚 been a great success!鈥�

The NFL has partnered with Nike to grow girls鈥� flag football leagues across the country. Ms. Hantman connected with the New York Jets鈥� community relations department, which supported the launch of the girls鈥� league by donating flag belts and Nike cleats. 鈥淎dditionally, the Jets invited our league to their practice facility last summer for a minicamp, which was an incredible experience for the players and families,鈥� she says.

According to Ms. Hantman, the girls who play range from athletes to dancers to gymnasts. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a聽sport that attracts every girl because you may have a great arm and be able to play quarterback, be really fast and take a handoff, or be great at defense and pull a flag.鈥�

Opportunities for all

Flag football proponents say the sport can become even more inclusive. Mr. Dugan says Westfield PAL never turns a player away for financial reasons. 鈥淲e have a scholarship program,鈥� he adds. 鈥淲e pride ourselves on that.鈥�

In addition, Westfield PAL recently started a special needs program. 鈥淪ome of the kids who have special needs feel like they can鈥檛 compete with mainstream players,鈥� Mr. Dugan explains. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had minicamps with 20 or more players come out. We plan on having more this year.鈥�

Other flag football advocates have modified the game to open it up to more people. For example, in the International Women鈥檚 Flag Football Association, instead聽of playing five on five, which is the version played by NFL Flag teams, participants play an eight-on-eight version.聽This opens up the sport more to girls and women who are not traditionally athletic.

Diane Beruldsen, president and founder of the association, believes more skills come into聽play for the eight-on-eight version of the game. 鈥淔or five on five, it is more about running and throwing,鈥� she聽explains. 鈥淚n our game, if you can鈥檛 catch, you can kick or punt. The strategy is very different.鈥�

There鈥檚 no age limit: The oldest woman who played at a recent tournament was 72.

Ms. Beruldsen says the association also works to foster female coaches and officials.

鈥淥ur goal is to make leaders out of these women, but good, kind, compassionate leaders,鈥� she聽says. 鈥淲e need to redefine sports and this concept of winning. We should enjoy practices as聽much as games, and we should help one another.鈥�