NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The high school football season hasn’t just kicked off for the young men strapping on shoulder pads and hitting the turf.
At Oak Park High School on the last Friday in August, it’s not just the boys scoring touchdowns – the girls are too, starting a new flag football venture at the high school level.
“Approached by the Kansas City Chiefs and said we want to do a flagship, let you guys be the first ones to do this in the Northland, so we’re really happy this has turned out the way it is, it’s a great opportunity for our girls,” says Jared Barge, the coach of Winnetonka’ High School’s flag football team.
This isn’t just for fun, or a cardio workout. These girls have something to prove.
“I want to prove that you can do anything you want when you put your mind to it,” said Winnetonka’s Nancy Mario.
When these girls take the field in the games to come, they know they’re blazing a trail and setting an example for the girls watching them in the stands.
“We’ve had little girls come talk to us about it and they think that it’s just the coolest thing and I love they can look up to me for starting something new,” says Oak Park’s Carley Freeman.
Adrenaline, and emotions, are running high.
“We’re going to cry at the end of this, because it’s been so special, it’s been so much more than we thought it was going to be,” says Oak Park coach Angela Allen.
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
