Girls’ flag football is starting its first season as a varsity sport at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
The team started as a club sport three years ago, founded by head coach Kenneth Cooper, who was looking to translate his success with the women’s flag football league he started in Cambridge in 2013, Pink Sunday.
Pink Sunday gave Cooper the framework to transition to a high school setting three years ago. The team was given varsity status this season.
“We were ahead of the game, in a sense, and just kind of just built out that platform for the girls,” Cooper said. “It ended up growing and growing every year. The interest in flag football is just amazing.”
While the team is not yet sanctioned under the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, it competes in the New England Patriots girls’ flag football league against schools throughout Massachusetts. The program is composed of 30 girls, which splits into two teams to compete.
Flag football differs from tackle football in that it is played seven on seven on a shortened field, where the contact is limited. In tackle football, a player is downed when any other body part besides the hands or feet touch the ground. In flag football, a player is downed when the flag located by the waist is pulled.
Cooper wants the team to learn more than just football. He wants to focus on building confidence, creating opportunities and ensuring girls know they belong in this space.
In a male-dominant space like football, women and girls haven’t had equal opportunities to showcase their talents. By establishing a girls-only team, Cooper said he wants to provide those opportunities.
“We want to keep women active, keep them going, and keep them evolving in the sports world, so that people can give them the same opportunities that boys always had,” Cooper said.
The establishment of the team means a lot to current and former players.
Former player Claudia Valentine now has the opportunity to give back to the program as a coach. Valentine played under Cooper during pep rallies and other events held by the school even before the club was created.
“I couldn’t be more proud for them to be adding another female sport,” Valentine said. “It speaks volumes to what the city can do for girls, especially young girls who are in sports.”
With a mix of returning and new faces, the coaches have taken on the task of teaching the sport from scratch. While the program is new, the coaches said they have already seen the players make progress.
“The athleticism and their willingness to learn and grow as a team is just amazing,” said Maggie Pimlott, assistant coach and former CRLS athlete. “They’re very open minded into trying new things, and that’s one of the big things about this team.”
Interest in flag football is on the rise across the world. It will be an Olympic sport in 2028 in Los Angeles and was showcased in NFL and Team USA events in March.
With the sport constantly growing, Cooper wants to establish CRLS as a top team in the country and a path for more opportunities in athletics for women.
“The future in mind is to get the girls the best possible training and structure from this program so that it continues to grow,” Cooper said. “I’m always going to be at the forefront of establishing those pipelines so that these women and young girls all have the opportunities that they never had.”
This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
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