In Oregon, a pilot program for flag football catches on
Lili Miller, the quarterback for the Seaside High School girls flag football team, grew up playing catch with her father and brothers.
“I had a lot of fun playing football with my brothers and my dad, just learning like that,” she said. “I would always play catch on the beach or neighborhood and I just fell in love with throwing the ball.”
Flag football
Roberta Chavez Perez eludes a defender.
Seaside and Astoria girls are in their second seasons of flag football, part of an expanding pilot program at high schools in Oregon.
Nationally, flag football is an emerging sport that can help fulfill the mission of Title IX, the federal law that provides equal opportunity for women in education and has fueled the explosive growth in women’s sports.
Eleven states have sanctioned flag football as a sport, according to the Associated Press. In Colorado, the latest state, the NFL’s Denver Broncos supported the pilot program. The Tennessee Titans backed the sport in Tennessee, and other NFL teams — including the Seattle Seahawks — have donated to help launch the sport.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association is expected to vote in May on whether to sanction flag football.
“The Cowapa League, we made a decision last year to go all in together on this,” Seaside athletic director Aaron Tanabe said. “Astoria, Scappoose, us, Tillamook and then Banks joined us as well who used to be in the Cowapa League.
“All of the coaches are pretty close and we just talked about how it would be a cool opportunity for our kids and it just took off from there. So we were five of the eight teams that played last year.”
Flag football
Madeline Williams heads for the end zone.
Howard Rub, the Astoria athletic director, said the Oregon School Activities Association reached out to the Cowapa League in particular because they thought the support would be there for flag football.
“So we are happy to be one of the only leagues to full fledge get it going last year and it’s expanded big time this year with over 30 schools giving it a try,” he said. “We are excited to be a part of year two and looking forward to the kids having an opportunity to play a couple more Friday nights.”
The pilot program gives the sport an organized space to grow without the formality of sanctioned competition.
Doug Walsh, the Astoria High School coach, is against making flag football an official sport — at least right now — as he wouldn’t have enough girls to play.
Astoria has 18 players, but only six would be eligible if the sport became sanctioned because they are involved with other spring sports.
“So if they keep it kind of recreational but organized — if it’s an organized activity, we can continue to grow it,” he said. “Because almost all of my girls are doing something else this spring.”
Walsh said the team had 11 players last season.
“Girls have interest in the sport. I’m not sure what Seaside has, but we are growing the sport,” he said. “It’s all about coming out and having fun. That’s how you grow the sport.”
Flag football
The Astoria girls flag football team at practice.
