IN 2024, THE DIOCESE of Orange Parochial Athletic League (PAL), added girls flag football to its offering of team sports.
STS. SIMON & JUDE CATHOLIC SCHOOL AND ST. JOACHIM CATHOLIC SCHOOL FACE OFF ON THE FLAG FOOTBALL FIELD. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Now in only its second season, girls flag football has experienced remarkable growth, expanding from six teams playing a total of 30 games the first year, to 44 teams — 21 for seventh and eighth graders and 23 for fifth and sixth graders – playing a total of 186 games.
The season runs from March 10 to May 1 and there are enough teams to add playoffs for the first time, said Russ Smith, PAL athletic director.
“It’s been huge,” Smith said. “It’s taken off like gangbusters.”
PAL has already been offering boys flag football in the fall for several years.
RICHARD MERCADO, COACH OF ST. JOACHIM CATHOLIC SCHOOL FLAG FOOTBALL TEAM, POSES WITH HIS TEAM AT A GAME AT ST. SIMON AND JUDE CATHOLIC SCHOOL ON MARCH 31. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
One factor contributing to the success of PAL’s flag football program, Smith said, is its close alignment with high school flag football rules, which helps prepare PAL middle school players to play in high school.
In Orange County high schools, flag football became an official CIF sport in 2023 and has also enjoyed rapid growth in just two seasons.
Mater Dei, Rosary Academy, JSerra and Santa Margarita Catholic High School all have girls flag football teams.
A GROUP PHOTO OF THE STS. SIMON AND JUDE SEVENTH/EIGHTH GRADE FLAG FOOTBALL TEAM.
Tom Leahy, coach of the St. Joachim Catholic School sixth grade team, emphasized the diversity in the players’ backgrounds, with some playing flag football for the first time and others brining years of experience to his team.
“You get to see them learn and grow in real time and kind of grasp the game, which is really fun to see,” Leahy said. “You just come on out, we’ll get you in the game and you’ll learn from it.”
His team’s success is evident in the players’ improved skills and increased confidence, both on and off the field, Leahy said. Recalling one player who had never played any sport catching her first touchdown pass during a game, Leahy said, “It was kind of one of those ‘This is what it’s all about moments.’”
The experienced players come from Orange County club programs such as Friday Night Lights or Matt Leinart Flag Football, started in 2010 by former, Mater Dei, USC and NFL quarterback Matt Leinart.
ALEXIE MARIETTI, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR FOR STS. SIMON & JUDE CATHOLIC SCHOOL, ALAN WALENCEWICZ, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR FOR ST. JOACHIM CATHOLIC SCHOOL AND RUSS SMITH, DIRECTOR OF THE PAROCHIAL ATHLETIC LEAGUE (PAL), GET TOGETHER DURING A RECENT GAME.
Others, such as Alana Pang, are playing flag football for the first time.
Pang, a sixth grader at Sts. Simon & Jude Catholic School in Huntington Beach, had only participated in taekwondo before signing up for flag football and eventually learning to master her position as a receiver.
“It’s good and fun and my friends do it with me,” Alana said. “I like getting the ball and I like getting a touchdown.”
ST. BONAVENTURE AND ST. BARBARA CATHOLIC SCHOOLS COMPETE ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD.
Sts. Simon & Jude eighth-grader Lily Weber is returning for her second year playing flag football.
Weber said she didn’t play much last season but is getting more playing time this year and having more fun.
Weber, who also plays softball, said the skills she’s picked up on the softball diamond have transitioned well onto the football field. She plans to play one and perhaps both sports when she attends Mater Dei High School in the fall.
“I like to just play school sports because I like the unity and I like playing with my friends,” Weber said.
Flag football has been getting backing from the NFL and other organizations and is scheduled to make its debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics is also recommending that Divisions I, II, and III sponsor legislation to add flag football to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. At least 65 NCAA schools already sponsor women’s flag football at the club level.
“I had a ton of parents interested in girls flag football which I think is a great opportunity for them.” Sts. Simon & Jude Athletic Director Alexie Marietti said. “I think because it’s new and now that it is a PAL and CIF sport and now it is going to college level and the Olympics too. It’s nice to see that these girls get the opportunity to play in this type of environment before they go off to high school.”
Smith is optimistic about the future of the PAL Flag Football program, anticipating even greater participation, with more schools fielding teams in the coming years.
“The rest of them will catch on,” he said. “There’s no doubt.”