Ravens Insider: Girls’ flag football coming to Howard County through Ravens partnership

[ExtremeRavens]

Girls in Howard County will now have the opportunity to compete with their high schools in one of the fastest-growing sports — flag football.

“To me, this means more girls will be able to see themselves in the sport, to be able to go through those doors that were previously locked,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said. “More girls will have not only opportunities for health and wellness, but more career choices and opportunities.”

Through a partnership with the Ravens, the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks will hold a girls’ flag football season in the gap between fall sports and the Howard County Public School System’s winter break, Nicholas Mooneyhan, director of the department, said.

Clinics for coaches and players will begin in October through the Ravens, Mooneyhan said, with games anticipated to start in November. It will likely be a five-week season with six games, playoffs and a championship game, Mooneyhan said, but the format is still being finalized. The program will “look and feel like a high school sport,” with each team sporting its colors.

Talks to bring girls’ flag football began around January and February of this year with Ball and Ravens President Sashi Brown, Mooneyhan said. The school system wasn’t able to support the program this year, so recreation and parks worked to come up with a program that would be a “launching point” for the school system, he said. The county is also working with the school system to find coaches, looking to gain a head start for next year’s transition.

In the second year of a two-year agreement with the Ravens partnership, HCPSS is set to add girls’ flag football as a fall varsity sport at all 13 high schools for the 2026-2027 school year. Recreation and parks will continue to support girls’ flag football through clinics, camps and a spring league similar to its popular summer lacrosse league, Mooneyhan said.

Girls can already play flag football through the Department of Recreation and Parks’ co-ed program; however, participation in co-ed programs tends to decline as girls age, Mooneyhan said. Expanding opportunities for girls in a space that has traditionally been male-dominated is something to be proud of, he said. Among the benefits of building leadership, teamwork and other skills, the program helps inclusivity and equality, which aligns with the department’s goal to create spaces where everyone can feel a sense of belonging.

“Youth sports just has that impact to break down barriers through having a shared, common interest that even national politics and social issues, it kind of breaks those down and helps progress,” Mooneyhan said.

There are several logistics considered when adding a new sport, according to the school system, and an average cost of about $200,000 for non-contact varsity sports. Though the school board dealt with a tough budget year, Ball said he’s sure the school system can work through its budget process to provide sufficient resources for the program to maintain state compliance, as it does with other sports.

“Looking at access and opportunity, we are thrilled about the option for students not currently playing, or who have never played fall sports, to become more involved in athletics,” the school system said in a statement. “Flag football is rapidly growing in popularity, and we are excited to add it to our already outstanding athletics program and to be part of an initiative to provide an inclusive way for female students to play football.”

About 351 students from eighth to 11th grade in the 2024-2025 school year expressed interest in girls’ flag football when surveyed, according to the school system. Given the numbers, Mooneyhan is confident there will be enough girls to field a team for each school. Otherwise, some schools might have to combine teams.

With the addition of girls’ flag, Howard County joins about 92 other schools across Baltimore City and Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s and Washington counties that have girls’ flag programs through the Ravens. In total, the Ravens have provided $730,000 in grant funding throughout Maryland for the initiative. The initiative helps provide resources, uniforms and support for the programs.

Flag football is quickly growing around the country. According to a National Federation of State High School Associations survey, about 2,736 schools and 68,847 athletes participated in girls’ high school football during the 2024-25 school year, a 60.3% increase from 2023-2024, and a 229.8% growth rate from 2022-2023.

In Maryland, 1,266 student-athletes participated in girls’ flag football at 52 high schools, according to the NFHS survey. That number represents a 320% increase from the previous year, when there were 301 athletes at 12 schools. With more schools participating, the state might reach the threshold in 2026 for the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association to consider sanctioning girls’ flag as a statewide sport, and it’s exciting for the county to be part of it, Mooneyhan said.

Women’s flag football will also make its debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Ball believes Howard County will raise some future Olympians through its program.

“I’m hoping to see girls of all ages and backgrounds able to play a sport and learn a sport that they may love, that they may be watching on TV with their friends and family, and know that they have a place where they are seen, they are valued, and they have every opportunity to have access to the sport as their male counterparts,” Ball said.

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