It takes a lot to shock me about flag football these days. After all, I have had a front row seat for much of it's growth over the past ten years or so. I have watched it move across the country from Florida to today when around twenty states have sanctioned girls high school flag football. Also not to mention that we will be playing it in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
However when I just read that the state of California has seen an 84% growth in girls high school flag football, I have to admit that my jaw dropped. This was followed up by the fact that that this flag football explosion in California has really all happened in the past three years. Yes, California is a huge state but 29% of all girls high school flag football players now play it in the Golden State! Let that sink in for a moment.
These numbers are not coming from just anyone, mind you. They are coming from the NFHS. The National Federation of High Schools runs an annual participation survey, and from 2023-24 to 2024-25, girls flag football saw an increase of more than 25,000 participants. The number of schools offering the sport also nearly doubled, going from 1,777 to 2,736 the following year.
What is interesting to us here at your Flag Football Source is that often sports will grow vertically either from young players to older or in some cases the high schools will get the ball started and it will trickle down. In California it appears to be flowing both directions with many youth flag football organizations popping up like the one sponsored by former USC and NFL quarterback Matt Leinart.
I will finish with this. California may be the populated state but when it comes to young girls who want to play high school flag football, the state is not unique. It is and should only be a matter of time before all 50 states understand the value that this sport brings to high school girls.