Girls flag football is booming in suburbs, with pipeline that begins in kindergarten

Women's flag football will debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but on fields across the region, the future is closer to home and growing fast.

Throughout the suburbs, programs for girls as young as kindergarten have multiplied amid a participation increase that shows no sign of slowing.

During a recent crisp evening at Keith Mione Community Park, about two dozen girls from kindergarten to third grade in the Mundelein Park & Recreation District's inaugural girls youth flag football program scrimmaged for the first time.

Parents on blankets and in lawn chairs lined the sideline cheering their little ones on in an energetic and welcoming environment the district set out to create.

Earlier this year, the district was named one of 10 in the U.S., and only one in Illinois, to snare a grant from the National Recreation and Park Association in partnership with Nike to increase access to youth sports.

“Given that flag football is a high school sport in Illinois, Mundelein is striving to create a youth pipeline that captures the enjoyment of the sport at a very young age, while also building a coaching pipeline of women coaches so that youth can see themselves reflected in their leaders from the very start,” said Brian McFadden, the NRPA's program manager for health and wellness.

The Mundelein park district had pitched flag football for K-3 girls as a way to empower the next generation of female athletes and coaches. But it's about more than just one sport, said Kyle Berg, director of recreation and facilities.

“It's about creating more opportunities for girls to connect with one another, make new friends and discover new activities they may continue participating in for years to come,” he said.

The clinic and scrimmage program is led by volunteer coaches who receive USA Football training. High school flag football players, including Mo Gardner and Kyla Lesniak, a senior and freshman, respectively, at Mundelein High School, assist as mentors.

“I want to help younger kids share the same excitement I had when I was playing, “Gardner said. “Having older kids mentor makes it more fun and exciting.”

“I love the community that you build with your teammates,” added Lesniak. “I made so many more friends and I liked actually playing football.”

After the Illinois High School Association in early 2024 officially sanctioned girls flag football as a varsity sport, interest cascaded to park districts, recreation departments and community organizations that have been creating girls-only opportunities outside the school setting.

By that time, the Chicago Bears were well into a collaboration with Chicago Public Schools to promote girls flag football. What began with 22 teams in 2021 has grown to more than 220 high school girls flag football teams across Illinois.

The team also is in the third year of offering flag football clinics to boys and girls, including one in Rockford recently attended by 175 girls aged 10 to 18.

The Downers Grove Park District initially offered coed flag football, but saw high school sanctioning as an opportunity for all-girl options last spring and fall, said Carter Patton, manager of Athletics & McCollum Park.

Currently, 106 girls at various grade levels are enrolled in the girls leagues, with nine teams total, he said. Last fall, 45 players registered.

Flag football became an attraction for some boys, Patton said, because there’s less injury risk. It’s easier to start playing because there’s far less equipment needed than tackle football, and the sport highlights athleticism over size.

“I would think those things resonate with the girls, too,” he added.

Buffalo Grove Park District for the first time this fall is offering girls-only flag football for grades 3 to 8. Teams will participate in the Arlington Heights Youth Athletic Association league against squads from Rolling Meadows, Palatine and Arlington Heights.

And at the Palatine Park District, demand has been high for a girls flag program, according to Dan Hernandez, athletics coordinator.

Participants for girls in grades 3 to 8 jumped from 23 in 2024 to 75 last year. Seventy-one already are registered for 2026, with enrollment open through August.

Hernandez noted demand has exceeded expectations for the district's inaugural Girls Flag Football Camp this summer. Originally capped at 60 participants, 65 are now preregistered.

That mirrors interest levels in other suburbs as well. A program in Park Ridge has 500 girls already signed up for this year, compared to 400 last year.

In Mundelein, Berg said the idea for the girls program started with the interest and success of the high school’s flag football team, which debuted last fall.

Kat McCreery, director of athletics, said the first season went “phenomenally well,” with 70 girls across all levels and included many not already involved in a sport.

“The girls were competitive, supportive of one another and genuinely excited to be part of building something new at MHS,” she added.

McCreery even enrolled her second grade daughter in the park district program, saying it offers an affordable way for girls to try the sport and gives high school players opportunities to teach, mentor and volunteer.