At London High School in central Ohio, five girls lined up for a snap. Their coach Brannon Edley prepped them for their next play.
“You're going to run, and then hit Carly going that way,” Edley explained. “Got it?”
At the snap of the football, the girls broke apart and sprinted down the field, as the quarterback launched the football toward a pair of bright pink gloves.
It’s the first year for the team, whose players span freshman through senior year. Player Mya Edley said they’re all taking their time-off from other sports to try something entirely new to the school.
“No one here has played flag football before,” she said. “I think that we're doing really good.”
Flag football is gaining increasing attention among football fans. Alongside advertising from major sports brands like Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour, the NFL is actively using its platform to highlight the growing sport through commercials and marketing campaigns.
This national attention is translating into more opportunities under Friday night lights for girls in Ohio.
Ohio’s fastest growing high school sport
Flag football’s rules are nearly identical to American football with a few key differences. They use a smaller field, have fewer players and instead of each down ending in a dogpile, it’s a simple rip of a flag.
Edley is the team’s offensive coordinator in its first ever season. Right now, he said they have nine girls and very few subs.
“But I have a lot of girls who want to commit for next year,” he said. “Then there's a lot of eighth graders who want to play.”
Enthusiasm isn’t just growing at London High School: In five years, Ohio has gone from a smattering of girls flag football teams to 162 teams. Tim Stried with the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) said 50 teams joined just last year.
That’s thanks in part to a big proponent: the NFL. The Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns help schools, like London, build programs by providing equipment, uniforms, and tournaments for them to test their skills.
“Those efforts have really paid off,” Stried said. “And if we didn't have those two NFL teams in our state, it would not have grown to the point that it is now, so soon.”
More opportunities for girls
That growth has led Ohio colleges, like Heidelberg, Baldwin Wallace and Wittenberg, to add varsity teams.
Plus, there are rec leagues. Defensive coordinator Riley Curry plays for a women’s travel flag football team in Columbus. She said the game opens doors – including to the world stage. Flag football will debut at the Olympics in 2028.
“Even if you don't play in college, you can still go and go far with it. I think women in sports are growing. … Eventually we're gonna take over,” she said with a laugh.
London senior Julie Hicks doesn’t know yet if she will play in college or go for gold. But she’s excited to have any part in the growth of the sport.
“We've always had our set sports. Like, ‘Oh, you're a girl, so you've got to be a cheerleader’ and all that. But now I play wide receiver, I'm a linebacker, I'm catching footballs left and right,” Hicks said. “Maybe people who are older than us, maybe they wouldn't expect that to be a thing, but things are changing.”
In just a few weeks, the OHSAA will sanction its first state tournament and crown one Ohio high school with the inaugural state title.
London’s budding team hopes to be in the mix. Win or lose, Hicks says she’s happy that fewer girls are sitting on the sidelines.
