Colorado is paving the way for female football stars as the state recently sanctioned girls’ flag football as a high school sport. Ruby Schembri, an 11-year-old football enthusiast, is gearing up to play on the first-ever Raptors girls’ flag football team in Castle Rock. She is excited to join a team of girls and switch from the usual male-dominated environment. The Arapahoe Youth League (AYL), which is the largest youth sports organization in Colorado, is offering girls’ flag football in all their leagues, providing young girls in grades 1-8 the opportunity to play club football.
AYL will be hosting a girls’ flag football clinic in September, providing free training, equipment, and coaching to help girls develop their skills in the sport. This initiative is part of the growing trend of flag football becoming a scholarship program in colleges and being included in the Summer Olympics in 2028. Schembri hopes to inspire other girls to pursue football and dreams of playing in high school, middle school, and earning a college scholarship.
This move to include girls’ flag football is seen as a critical step in the sport’s growth and increasing female participation in football. Interested girls can register to participate in the league by the end of the first week of September, opening doors for more young athletes to follow in Schembri’s footsteps and make a mark in the football world.
Source
Photo credit www.cbsnews.com