Players race down the football field, black flags flapping at their waists, as girls flag football coach Sosa Leydy cheers from the sidelines. This school year, Lynbrook introduced a girls flag football team to the fall sports roster, a significant step toward gender inclusivity, especially in a male-dominated sport like football.
Flag football is a non-contact sport with rules similar to American football. The main differences are that tackling is replaced by pulling a flag from a player’s waist, and flag football involves fewer players and a smaller field.
Flag football has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S., with teams being formed across many schools in the country. Lynbrook’s inclusion of this program reflects the nationwide trend of creating opportunities and supporting gender equality in sports.
Flag football has been a sport since the 1900s, but was only made an official high school sport when the California Interscholastic Federation voted for it on Feb. 3, 2023. Across the United States, 17 states have sanctioned it as a girls varsity high school sport. Lynbrook added the sport to its athletics program to offer a female equivalent to football for those interested.
“We wanted to be one of the first to do it and pilot it before it became a statewide requirement,” math teacher and JV football coach Chris Baugh said. “That’s why we were trying to form a team earlier than other high schools.”
Efforts to form a team started in the second semester of the 2023-24 school year. The athletic department sent out an interest form, mentioned it in morning announcements and held an informational meeting in April to raise interest.
“Based on that, we thought we had enough players to start a team,” Baugh said. “We had many league meetings to set up rules and competition schedules.”
However, when season practices started at the beginning of the following school year, interest was much lower. Lynbrook had to cancel the season and was unsuccessful in creating a flag football team that year.
They continued to advertise for a team throughout the following school year by putting up flyers around campus, holding another informational meeting and setting up a stand at Miller Middle School’s sports night to appeal to incoming freshmen. At the beginning of this school year, more girls showed up to tryouts, which took place from Aug. 12 to 14., allowing Lynbrook to form its first-ever girls flag football team.
The team is made up of dedicated girls, eager to play the sport, who show up to every practice ready to work their hardest.
“The girls are very hardworking and committed,” Leydy said. “They text me that they want to have practice on days that we’re off.”
Since flag football is a new team at Lynbrook, the team was formed with the intention of having no cuts, meaning anyone who tried out would be able to play on the team, no prior experience required.
“It’s hard at first, but it gets easier,” freshman and player Sara Chen said. “It’s really fun, especially if you have a friend to do it with.”
This season, the girls hope to add more victories to their record. Their main goal is to get more players interested so that eventually, Lynbrook can have both a JV and varsity flag football team.
“I think success in the sport is going to take time because it’s still new and growing,” Baugh said. “But I’m so glad we have it and excited to see it grow.”
