What was once mostly limited to an annual homecoming power puff game is now potentially becoming a full-fledged high school sport.
MSHAA says girls’ flag football will become an emerging sport this coming school year.
“Interested to see where this goes and how this first year goes. And see how many teams, so when we can get some actual data,” said Andrew Kauffman, communications director for MSHSAA.
The Show-Me State is a step closer to girls’ flag football becoming a sanctioned sport.
Steve Scheelman is the senior program manager for youth sports for JC Parks.
Schellman says there is plenty for all young athletes to learn from the sport.
“There are tons of social, emotional, and physical benefits. Learning hard work and teamwork, getting physically fit, and learning how to work together as a team.”
Local players and coaches from the Jefferson City Chiefs Flag Football League are excited to grow the sport and the opportunities it presents for area girls.
“They should at least try. If they don’t try, they will never know,” said Harper Dunn, a flag football player.
In 2024, the Jefferson City Chiefs Flag Football League had 604 players, 25 of which were girls.
“We are the only four girls that play flag football at school,” explained the Mahomies, a JC Parks Chiefs Flag team with several fourth-grade girls from California.”
Since there is no flag league for 4th graders in California, they participate in the Jefferson City league.
And while they may seem sweet, they are tenacious on the field.
“But we’re not scared of the boys.”
Much of the push for the sport in the state comes from the Kansas City area, where the Chiefs and NFL have strongly advocated making the sport more inclusive for women.
Anna Anderson is a senior at Park Hills High School in Riverside, Missouri, where she represented the country’s youth flag football team and was named Chiefs girls’ flag football player of the year.
Anderson says she is excited for young girls to get opportunities she dreamed of as a kid.
“There was nothing specifically for girls, so I played Co-ed. I was the only girl, basically.”
Anderson says everyone should be allowed to pursue their passions no matter what others think.
“I think that everyone should be on an equal playing field when it comes to playing sports. We should all have the chance to do what we love.”
Kauffman says that now that the measure has passed with 74% support, schools can decide whether to begin a girls’ flag football program.
“Because of the registration process, it’s opened up effective immediately, so schools can go in and register for those sports.”
While girls’ flag football is not currently a sanctioned high school sport in the Show-Me State, which hosts state championships, Kauffman says this is a first step towards making it a reality.
Emerging sport is the first step towards becoming a fully inner-scholastic sport, and that is what your baseball, softball, and your sport at MSHSAA that has a championship. So, emerging sport is just the first step in the process. It’s a three-step process; it goes from emerging to provisionally fully inner-scholastic, and then it becomes fully inner-scholastic.”
Kauffman says that for girls’ flag football to become a sanctioned sport, it will need support from schools in their eight board districts.
“To become provisionally inner scholastic, we have eight board districts. So, we need fifty or more schools in at least three of the eight board districts, which would have to be registered for girls’ flag football.”
Kauffman says while they will have to wait until they gather more data on the number of schools participating to decide, the sport’s future is looking bright.
“A lot can happen in a year, two, and three years, so it’s too early to say. The great thing about our association is that it is up to the member schools.”
Some parents are excited to see where it leads as well.
“You can tell that they are so passionate about it, and I think that’s why all the parents of these girls have been so passionate about finding opportunities for them. It’s not my mom and dad signed me up for another sport. No, they are the ones driving this bus,” said Chelsea McGill.
“The more time we spend uplifting and supporting, the more talent we create,” said Brandon Dunn.
