For the first time in 136 years, when San Rafael High School was founded, there is a women’s flag football team. Already 38 girls from a diversity of sports backgrounds have joined this year. A brand-new teacher is stepping up and taking on the role of head coach. The team will have played two games by the time this story is published, but the wins and losses don’t matter much at this point. 

Shannon McClure, head coach and first-year ELD teacher at SR, says, “If this made kids come out that have never played a sport before, these are the things that we need to do as a school to get involved.”

A sport that is exploding in popularity. According to Jacob Feldman, an author for Sportico.com, “The number of girls playing on high school [flag football] teams jumped 86% from 2019 to 2023,” Feldman references the growth of flag football through the inclusion of large corporations. “The American Flag Football League has plans to launch a women’s competition in 2025,” he writes.

Mizaria Escobar, a sophomore and defensive player on the team, says, “Originally I wanted to do men’s football, but then I talked to the coach and I felt like I wouldn’t be able to do all that. When I heard [women’s] flag football was coming out, I felt like it would be more fun.” 

From their first game against rival Terra Linda High School, to their second game against Novato High School, the girls improved with every drive. They made big plays, scored touchdowns, and tried their best to keep up with strong second-year teams.

“Ours was one of the largest teams…the only one with only one coach. I was one of the only girl coaches,” says Coach McClure. 

In addition, the Terra Linda coach told McClure that last year, their team did not win a single game. This gives hope to a new team yet to get a win.

“The girls are always cheering you on, even if we are losing, they are still happy,” says Angelli Cifuentes, a senior captain on the team. 

The future looks bright for this sport and young group of girls, but it is not all sunshine and rainbows. Coach McClure has to balance her workload — and football load. “I have a huge team, which is a great problem to have, [but] having 38 girls is a lot.” With no assistant coach, it is no walk in the park to run a team of this size. “I live in Fairfield, which is over an hour away. I’m here for over 12 hours,” she says. As a former high school and collegiate football player, and a teacher with over 20 years of experience, she knows she can handle the pressure. 

As for the team, the overall chemistry is coming along. Initially, with players not agreeing with some of the elected captains and not showing up to practices, there was some tension brewing. As the season continues, these issues continue to get resolved. What characterizes this team the most is they all have the desire to get better.  

Yiesel Diaz, a senior captain on the team, says, “Knowing that most of the girls were never on a team before, they are very motivated to learn and grow with us.”

For SR, there are plans to make a JV program. “I definitely wanna grow the program,” says Coach McClure. With frustration from the players not getting playing time, a developmental team could be the solution. For the funding, Mr. Sully, the Athletic Director at SR says that the flag football team has “nothing in their team account.” 

Coach McClure is doing whatever she can to fix this. In the beginning, she had to buy flags for all the girls and is now seeking donations and sponsors. 

A good friend of McClure’s, Kim Shaffeur, the CEO at Napa design company DESIGNTHIS!, donated jerseys, shorts, and hoodies to the team. In addition, the team plans on running the SR Snack Shack to get some money in the account.

With the growth of this sport, large organizations such as the NFL and the Olympics have also made plans for the future, investing in the sport for a major marketing benefit. Scott Hallenbeck, CEO of USA Football says on the USA Football site, “The decision to add flag football to the 2028 Summer Olympic program in Los Angeles is an acknowledgment of the sport’s tremendous international growth and appeal as a fast, exciting, and competitive sport.” On the NFL website, there has been an announcement of a future league. “We’re not going to stop until flag football — the most inclusive, accessible version of our great sport — is ubiquitous… In the short term, we’re projecting 750,000 players involved in NFL Flag leagues by 2024.”

Since the start of school, the girls have advanced from just throwing and catching the football to now, running drills, scrimmaging during practice, and competing in full games against tough opponents. In only a few months, their growth has been remarkable and the team’s potential is endless.

“I’m excited to see what next year brings,” says Gabi Rodriguez, a Junior Captain on the team.