Sowers Selected to Lead USA Girls 17U Flag Football National Team

Women’s Flag Football | Fri, Dec. 17, 2021 at 3:55 PM

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – USA Football, the sport’s national governing body and member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, today announced the players and the coaching staff selected for the 2022 U.S. Girls 15U and 17U Flag National Teams.

Ottawa University (Kan.) women’s flag football head coach, Liz Sowers, was named head coach of the 2022 17U Flag National Team. Sowers is a four-time U.S. Women’s Football National Team player who helped lead three U.S. teams to gold medals in IFAF World Championship play across flag (2018) and tackle (2013, 2017). In her first season as the women’s flag football head coach at OU this past spring, Sowers guided the Braves to the NAIA’s inaugural National Championship.

“I am extremely honored to be selected as the head coach of the 17U junior national team,” said Sowers. “The opportunity in this sport is continuously growing, especially with the potential of the Olympics on the horizon. I can’t wait to see these top athletes come together from around the country, perform as a unit, and represent the United States. “

Ottawa finished the 2021 season with an overall record of 14-1 and a KCAC record of 6-0. The Braves had 15 All-KCAC performers, the KCAC Player of the Year, the KCAC Offensive Player of the Year and the KCAC Defensive Player of the Year. Ottawa captured the KCAC regular season championship, the KCAC Tournament Championship and Sowers was named KCAC Coach of the Year.

Each U.S. Girls team is comprised of a 12-player active roster. The Americans will face the world’s top girls flag national teams among their age group in June 2022 at an international friendly hosted by USA Football. Location and game dates of next summer’s global youth flag event will be announced in upcoming months. USA Football will announce 2022 Boys 15U and 17U Flag National Team rosters in the first quarter of 2022, which will compete against boys foreign national teams at the same event as the girls.

All games will be played in a 5 vs. 5 format under International Federation of American Football (IFAF) rules. IFAF, an International Olympic Committee provisional member, is comprised of more than 70 American Football-playing member nations spanning six continents, nearly doubling its family of countries in the past 15 years.

U.S. Girls 15U Head Coach Elliott Giles is the founder of the Youngstown (Ohio) Youth Flag Football Association, which has earned numerous youth flag national championships while impacting more than 20,000 boys and girls since 2007. A Miami native, Giles was inducted into the Youngstown State University Athletics Hall of Fame (2010) for his standout play at receiver for the Penguins from 1998-99. Girls 15U Assistant Coach AMANDA LARA is a current elite adult flag football player from South Florida. Owner of the all-girls South Florida Elite Flag Football organization, she shares her knowledge of the game with the next generation of players. As a high-level athlete with 10-plus years of coaching experience, Lara looks forward to both winning and building character with young athletes.

Girls 17U Assistant Coach Jason Klam of Austin, Texas, is the head coach of the Texas Fury Girls Flag Football program. Klam was named to USA Football’s Athlete and Coach Advisory Subcommittee earlier this year.

Spanning eight states and more than two dozen schools, U.S. Girls 15U and 17U Flag National Team players are selected by USA Football. Athletes are evaluated at U.S. National Team High Performance Development Camps and other USA Football player evaluation events.

2022 U.S. Girls 15U Flag National Team roster:

Coaches:
Head Coach: Elliott Giles, Youngstown (Ohio) Youth Flag Football Association
Assistant Coach: Amanda Lara, South Florida Elite Flag Football (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

2022 U.S. Girls 17U Flag National Team roster:

Coaches:
Head Coach: Liz Sowers, Ottawa (Kan.) University
Assistant Coach: Jason Klam, Texas Fury Girls Flag Football Club (Austin, Texas)

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About USA Football: USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive programs to advance and grow the sport. As the sport’s national governing body, member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and organizer of the U.S. National Team for international competition, USA Football partners with leaders in medicine, child advocacy and athletics to support positive football experiences for youth, high school and other amateur players.