How flag football being added to 2028 Olympics impacts Arizona high schools

In the first year the Arizona Interscholastic Association has sanctioned girls flag football, the sport took another huge step Monday.

The Inernational Olympic Committee approved flag football for 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Cricket, baseball and softball, squash and lacrosse also were added.

The decision drew plenty of positive responses from those involved in the high school flag football season currently underway in Arizona.

"This just shows the rapid growth of the sport and creates a huge pathway for the girls and boys flag," said Phoenix Xavier Prep coach Michael Patterson, who is part of USA Football as an assistant coach, and serves on the girls flag football advisory board for USA Football. "The honor of representing your country on the biggest stage is something many countries have been working for."

Chandler Hamilton coach Matt Stone, who was at the forefront of pioneering flag football for girls in Arizona at the club level a decade ago, feels this gives the sport more attention in places where it is less known.

"It's still surprising to me when people find out flag football is more than just a P.E. sport and that there is actually organizations, regional and national, involved with flag football," he said.

"It really hits two areas. It raises the awareness of sports' presence in states that don't have the high school-equivalent sport. But it really raises the international game way more than American,'' Stone added. "It's a huge sport in Mexico. Canada's been playing 12-on-12 football for decades in high schools. A lot of people don't know that. It's played in countries like Austria and elsewhere in Europe.

"But it can begin to make this an international sport. I think that, way more than the impact it makes in the United States, is what the Olympics means to sport."

More: The Arizona Republic's high school flag football Super 10 through Oct. 12, 2023

Brian Coger, who is the coach at Gilbert Campo Verde, has also been involved in the effort to increase the visibility of the sport.

Like Patterson and Stone, it's special for him and his athletes.

"I was pretty excited," Coger said. "It felt like a long time coming. I’ve been doing flag for a few years now, I do it at the club level also, so it’s something that we’ve been pushing for and it’s nice to see that it’s finally happening. It shows that there is an additional opportunity for these athletes to become an Olympian and represent their country.”

Xavier Prep senior captains Briella Boubek and Morgan Wubker are thrilled about the sport being added to the Olympics.

"I never thought it would ever be this big," Boubek said. "Growing up, there wasn't really a big opportunity for girls. I know a lot my friends played but they were guys. It wasn't until recently, in the past few years, that it exploded not just in Arizona, but more so on a national scale. Especially in the past year, the popuarity has sky-rocketed. I wouldn't say that I ever pictured it being in the Olympics. But now that it is I think it brings attention to the popularity of it."

Wubker likes the fact that this gives women's flag football chance to be recognized internationally.

"It will bring more focus to the sport and bring more girls to it," she said.

Not many colleges at this point offer scholarships for flag football. But this could have a domino effect and expand it bigger at the college level, opening more scholarship opportunities for high school girls in the sport. It could also cause other school districts in the state to bring on girls flag football after this season. There are less than 60 schools that are playing in the first year of the AIA flag football season.

"I have brothers who played football in high school," Wubker said. "I always enjoyed watching the sport. I never assumed to play girls flag football. I just find this really exciting it is being recognized."

Arizona Interscholastic Association's flag football teams are divided into 6A and 5A conferences, but not all of the large school districts or schools outside of the Phoenix area have opted for the sport during its first sanctoined season. Most of the teams are concentrated in southeast and west Valley areas, with others scattered in between.

There may be only 15 spots to make the national team that would represent the United States. So do the math. It's going to be tough making the team.

Still, as Stone puts it, it gives the sport "more legitimacy, which is something we're still fighting for."

"In our state, we have about 57 high schools fielding a team right now," he said. "That number should be 120 minimum. When you have huge districts like Phoenix Union, Scottsdale, Tucson that aren't playing, that is what the Olympics announcement today actually impacts.

"It really pushes those other districts to begin play, hopefully as soon as next year."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Flag football gains more ground with Olympics addition for 2028