Girls’ flag football is an up and coming sport at Santa Rosa High School, with 30 girls stepping out of their comfort zone and onto the field. This year, the sport is being offered at SRHS for the first time.
Flag football has taken off in Sonoma County, meaning the SRHS team plays at least two games per week due to the number of teams in the area. Since the leagues have not been sorted out yet, teams will have to prove which league they belong in for next year. Junior Maliyah James explained, “I think it’ll bring a lot of girls out to do something new and productive and we could build up our team more to get a better team.” She added that she plans to play again next year and is excited to try to recruit more girls and improve both with the team and personally.
The growing popularity of the sport has brought many girls together to try something new. “Since the sport is starting to expand more I do think this would help girls find a new passion and continue it later on in life if they haven’t been playing before,” said senior Ximena Ayala Rodriguez. She believes that the involvement with the school community may create new traditions as the years progress and the team develops.
Compared to the previous sports that sophomore Dejanelle Tharpe has played, she has enjoyed the unique nature of flag football as the season has begun. “You have to memorize what you have to do and you have to follow rules; for example, memorizing plays and routes,” Tharpe explained. This skill of memorization that players have to develop differs from the other sports that she has played in the past.
Freshman Spirit Mayhew described the team dynamic that has stuck out to her: “You create a community while playing the sport; like, everyone has your back and everyone is with you.” This tight-knit community is proving that it has been worth players’ time to come out for this new sport.
Make sure to go watch and cheer on the lady Panthers this season!
