Flag Football

Newtown High School is hoping to start a girls flag football team. Colleges such as the University of Nebraska and Iona University have already adopted girls flag football as a varsity level sport. In Connecticut, several high schools offer the opportunity to play flag football as a club activity. 

Newtown sent out an email to students to gauge the level of interest in playing as a CIAC sport. A Google Classroom page has also been set up. NHS history teachers Bob Pattison and Lou Santoli are coaching the team. Pattison was previously the NHS football head coach and Santoli was an assistant girls lacrosse coach at NHS as well. 

“It’s kind of a trendy thing that is happening right now, so we saw this as an opportunity to get back out there coach again. We both have coached in the past,” Pattison said.

Girls’ flag football is trending currently among high school students due to a combination of cultural shift around gender in sports, expanding college scholarships, and institutional backing. 

“We’ve seen that growth firsthand here in Connecticut. When we introduced flag football and held our first CIAC State Championship, 10 teams competed. After schools and student-athletes saw the support for the CIAC, local media, and NFL franchises, along with the success of that inaugural tournament, participation grew to 23 teams in year two. I expect that number to continue rising in year three,” CIAC Flag Football Tournament Official Coordinator Corey Plasky said.

Football in general has been a male dominated sport, so the emergence of flag football has created new opportunities for female athletes to get involved. 

“Where I used to coach many years ago, my buddy is the head coach of the football team in the fall, and they implemented girls flag football across the state. And he said it’s an amazing experience,” Santoli said. “And that’s a small school, so I thought, based off of them getting girls out- we could easily field a team and even have a successful team. So I approached Coach Pattison about it because we both love football and we both want the opportunity for young women to explore different opportunities and get involved in a great sport.” 

Flag football is considered a spring sport, so one issue would be competing for attendance between other sports such as outdoor track, softball, or lacrosse. Some girls would have to choose between sports, while other girls who are in their off season would have the opportunity to join and be a part of the team. 

“More states are implementing it and looking to turn into varsity sports and even at the collegiate level. Some schools are starting to form teams, and maybe in the next 10 years they’re starting to talk about money for potential scholarships,” Pattison said.