Yes. The facility's insurance company insisted on such things along with an indemnification waiver. Players were suspended and even tossed from the league for breaking the rules. But here's the thing, in the 9-man game, blocking is live to the ball and the best way to block someone will always be to knock them down. It has nothing to do with rules. If you have contact, you have injuries. That's true for any sport.
You're probably right but there are a couple of problems. For the boys, the dad's sure aren't going to just allow the NFL to dictate how kid football is run. I mean, boys playing flag up until they reach 7th grade?! How will they learn how to lower their head and run someone over? And for the girls, the NFL is so far behind the ball on this. I'm all for creating opportunities but you can have too many opportunities and water down the level of participation the girls can enjoy. Every time you start a program, there's a chance you're going to pull resources from programs that are already starving for proper equipment and facility time. That won't be true in all cases but if you get a dozen girls that want to form a flag team at a smaller school, you're probably going to severely impact what happens to the other programs.
Anything that gives kids something to do and learn is always a good idea to me
I can assure you, the NFL doesn't care what happens to the girl's volleyball or lacrosse or field hockey or tennis or soccer programs at any high school. In fact, they would probably love to cannibalize those sports and make them go away.
I think you’re right. I follow the Steelers on Instagram and they were heavily promoting their women’s flag football efforts around the WPIAL in the summer and during the football season.
).I coached in the league last year. Last year was the 1st year we had organized girls flag football in the WPIAL. Philly got started the year before. The championships weren't at Acrisure.
Plenty of club soccer players played flag this past year. I had 6 of them on my team last year. Upper Saint Clair, South Fayette, and Bethel had quite a few.
Will there be WPIAL championships similar to other sports? I think Highmark would be a great venue for it- if I recall correctly, they hosted some sort of flag football tournament pre-Covid with former NFL players (headlined by Michael Vick).
You do realize why the NFL is pushing this? Football participation is plummeting and they are trying to open up a new demographic. Do not think for a minute that this is an altruistic effort by the NFL. Football is a VERY dangerous sport and it causes life long injuries.
I’m sure there are “club” players playing but I just can’t imagine a serious player from a real club team doing so. It wouldn’t be wise and simply wouldn’t be possible. The Spring is just way too busy for the players who are playing for the Hounds, or GA’s.
Right. I’m in a text group with a bunch of them. Already this AM, One of the B/C Beadling coaches just told me he has a few of his club girls at various schools playing FF, including a few from the HS that he coaches. The GA coaches have no one on their teams playing.
My Granddaughter lives in Austin where girls flag football is big-time! They have different age groups. She plays on a team that competes against teams throughout Texas! They actually played in a national tournament last summer in Nashville. Since the weather is warm most of the year, they play nearly year round.
Oh, absolutely, but the net effect on others sports is something that schools will need to consider.
It really does feel like competition. The NFL is coming after our girls. Times are changing as it is, but I do wonder how our women’s soccer national team will look competitively in a generation or two if soccer is no longer the #1 sport for females. If the NFL is starting to get the best athletes, our soccer (and volleyball) talent pools will dip.
I will say this... Most of our girls stated that if flag football were around when they were growing up, they probably wouldn't have played soccer. Our softball coach banned his girls from playing but because it wasn't a school sponsored sport, 2 of his girls ended up playing.
Kids having fun playing a sport that keeps them active. Sounds like a great idea.
A lot of us deal with the realities of trying to keep HS programs going. That's where this comes from. The time and money that gets spent to do that is impressive if you're trying to win. I'm seeing another sport as a concern when you already have very limited resources for many HS athletic programs. Our school volleyball program gets enough for four game balls and two score books. That's between the MS and HS programs. Replacing damaged uniforms, buying any training equipment, and paying to enter tournaments, have fallen on the boosters. That puts more pressure on families to do fundraisers. And every school program is trying to do the same thing. Often, several at a time.
It's not that simple. If you were to pick one sport that would be bad for girls, this would be it.
Anything that separates kids from their phones for a few hours is a better reason.
nope, i'd pick field hockey. absolutely terrible sport to watch, i mean just beyond brutal.
Where do I start...resource allocation and scheduling conflicts, potential reinforcement of gender stereotypes, safety concerns, diversion from established sports, lack of long term opportunities, inequality in athletic development, reduced skill transferability, no coaching infrastructure, gender segregation, lack of competitive opportunities, insurance and liability issues.
I assume the NFL is checking off, or at least goals of this initiative are to check off, coaching infrastructure, resource allocation, insurance and liability, scheduling conflicts (someone mentioned they schedule games on Sundays), and lack of competitive opportunities. Regarding lack of long term opportunities -- the most basic purposes of high school sports are to have fun, be a part of a team, and compete, not to earn a D1 scholarship or train to be a pro athlete. I'm not sure I understand the points about gender segregation and reinforcement of gender stereotypes, or inequality in athletic development. I agree safety is a big concern.
My goddaughter played. I was never subjected to a game but her dad confirmed exactly what you're saying.
I'm all for it. Cheap way to get more male sports with Title 9. Mens lacrosse....here we come.
They aren’t going to be adding male sports. There is so much money going to be put into football that it’s far more likely that you’ll see cuts rather than additions.
