In recent years youth sports have been more popular than ever before. A Project Play article on youth sports states that “50.7% of youth ages 6-17 say they “participated on a sports team”. With this increase in athletic interest, this year Alhambra High School is introducing a girls’ flag football team. After struggling to find a coach throughout the summer, the Moors flag football team is ready to take on their first ever season.
Over the past year or so, interest in girl’s flag football has been at an all time high. NFHS put an article out in April of 2024 stating “In 2023, about 500,000 girls ages 6-17 played flag football – a 63 percent increase since 2019.” The vast majority of contact sports are male dominated, however, girls across the country have begun advocating for higher accessibility. With this said, sports teams directed towards young women have always been popular but what is it about flag football that has warranted the mass increase of attention? An i9 Sports article featured a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health that went on to state “Participating in flag football empowers girls by providing a platform to teach them essential life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and resilience.” The addition of the lady Moors flag football team is creating new opportunities for girls across campus. The Moor Weekly interviewed team captain Genesis about how their season has been thus far; “As our first year of having a flag football team, we’re off to a great start. Having girls express their love for the [sport while also inviting new] people to grow a love for the sport is what’s truly nice seeing.” The lady Moors continue to trailblaze and create new opportunities for girls across campus. The team began official practices on Aug. 29 and had their first ever game on Wednesday, Sept. 18 against South El Monte.