Bryn Mawr School junior Anna Morrow started a flag football club at her all-girls school three years ago. On Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, she saw another step forward in growing the sport she loves for girls like her.
The Baltimore Ravens’ RISE program hosted Girls Flag Football clinics at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday. The two clinic sessions accommodated more than 250 girls, who worked with a group of USA Football certified master trainers and local area high school coaches to develop their skills.
The Ravens hosted a clinic in December at the Under Armour Performance Center, but this is the first time players have been at M&T Bank Stadium. It was another banner day for Morrow, who has been in touch with the Ravens since her freshman year to expand the sport in Frederick County.
“I have loved football for as long as I can remember and I have been looking for a way that I can involve girls like myself who just love the game,” Morrow said. “Just seeing the sport flourish and seeing that you can compete and play this at a competitive, high level, I think that’s important in growing this sport and getting more people involved.”
Girls flag football will become an official Frederick County Public School (FCPS) sport beginning in the fall with a pilot league, the first step in achieving the long-term goal of sanctioning the sport in the state of Maryland. Ten schools will compete in the eight-week season, which will end with a championship game. The Ravens and Under Armour partnered with FCPS, with the Ravens committing three years of grant funding.
Although Bryn Mawr is a private school and thus not eligible to compete in the pilot league, Morrow is hopeful that seeing teams compete at a high level will show people that flag football is a competitive sport that should be played statewide.
“I’ve been in touch with schools within our IAM league trying to get this program rolling,” she said, highlighting the wider interest the Ravens hope to bolster.
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.
