Chatting in a circle, the newly formed CESJDS flag football club passes a football around to warm up. For years, the status of the JDS football team has been a running joke, with sweatshirts that say “JDS football” on the front and “still undefeated” on the back. However this year, the fiction became a reality and flag football became a co-ed fall sport at JDS.
At the moment, flag football is a club instead of an official JDS sports team. It meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school
for about an hour, and they practice with a variety of drills. It is coached by Assistant Athletic Director Matthew Landy (‘18). Currently, there are about 10 players in the club. However, Landy hopes to increase that number to 14 players so that they are able to play games against oth er schools. Landy also hopes for the team to join a league in the coming years.
“I think it’s important that it’s one of the only sports teams or clubs at the school where it’s a co-ed team,” Landy said. “I think it’s good to put gender aside and just let kids play sports that they like to play. And it’s been really fun so far, watching these kids in different grades meet new people and interact with one another.”
Freshman David Loeffler was originally on the cross country team, but ended up switching to flag football because he enjoyed the sport more.
“It’s a very fun environment with not a lot of students,” Loeffler said. “… [People] should really join; it’s the best up-and-coming team.”
After hearing about the program in emails and talking to her momabout the opportunity, junior Nolyn Ziman decided to try out flag football with some of her friends. Through the sport, she has had the chance to become friends with several underclassmen. Ziman is also an avid Ravens fan, and finds it meaningful to be able play one of her favorite sports, especially because she never thought she would have the option to do so.
“I think it’s really good for women in sports,” Ziman said. “And it’s going to prepare us and get us all more interested when [flag football is] in the Olympics in four years.”
According to Football Operations, flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. In the United States alone, 2.4 million kids under 17 play organized flag football. Additionally, the sport will be added to the 2028 Summer Olympic games. There are a total of 11 states with high schools who offer varsity girls flag football as a sport and women’s flag football scholarships
are offered at 25 NAIA colleges according to the New York Times. The Atlantic East Conference also has planned to be the first NCAA division to offer varsity flag football as a sport starting in the spring of 2025.
The National Football League (NFL), plays a big role in promoting flag football. One of the ways that they do so is through the league they organize, known as NFL FLAG, which has over 1,600 teams and is in every state. Part of what piqued Ziman’s interest in the JDS flag football program was what she heard about Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) piloting a flag football pro-
gram this year. In partnership with the Baltimore Ravens and Under Armour, MCPS, Baltimore City Public Schools and Washington County Public Schools are all offering a girls flag football program this fall. Frederick County Public Schools started their program last year. Throughout the summer, there were multiple skills clinics to help get athletes involved in flag football in MCPS.
Junior Brooke Batay from John F. Kennedy High School in Wheaton is a utility player on the girls varsity flag football team at Kennedy. Batay is excited to score her first touchdown this season.
“I think [this program is] really cool because it gives females a shot at what usually boys only have to do,” Batay said. “So it gives us more opportunities.”
The varsity girls flag football team at Kennedy practices every day after school, and plays one to two games per week. Practice includes offensive and defensive work, routes and scrimmages.
At Albert Einstein High School, senior Sam Hase is the quarterback for her school’s flag football team. Unlike many other teams, Einstein did not practice over the summer, but still has a 3-2 record.
“I’m actually very, very proud of us,” Hase said. “We’re a pretty good team, so watch out.”
Hase appreciates the opportunity to play a male-dominated sport because she feels it makes a statement about girls playing sports. She was excited that flag football was added just in time for her senior year.
“My whole life I’ve really grown up with playing football, and I used to play flag football when I was younger,” Hase said. “My family used to watch football a lot, so it kind of just was around me all the time. So when I saw that we were doing it, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, sign me up for sure.’”
