By Joey Gelman
On Saturday September 10, the Chicago Public League (CPL) and the Chicago Bears will kick off the second season of High School Girls Flag Football in the state of Illinois. In 2022, the league has expanded from 22 teams to 50, and has incorporated teams from Rockford and the Western Suburbs as the league vies to become a sanctioned IHSA sport.
And as teams get ready for their first official games this weekend, CPL, NFL Flag, USA Football and the Chicago Bears recently hosted the 2nd annual High School girls Flag Football Jamboree at Englewood Stem High School, featuring over 40 teams and 700 female student-athletes participating in skills development and scrimmage gameplay.
The first-ever female coach in the NFL, Jen Welter, joined the student-athletes to share her experience as a trailblazer in the sports world and to help the girls understand the incredible history they were making by being a part of the league.
“Chicago is leading the way in what and how it can be done. This is 50+ teams in two years. Seeing Girls flag supported by the Bears and CPS and putting these numbers out here… These epic girls numbers… I’ve never seen more than this. This is everything,” Welter said.
“For so long for girls in football, for her to step on the field, she was one of one, an exception to the established rule that, that place and space wasn’t for girls,” Welter said. “Today we’re showing that these girls are no longer exceptions to the rules but that the rules are changing. They’re exceptional . They belong in this game.”
Not only is the sport an incredible opportunity for girls in high school, but it can have a tremendous impact on their future success.
“They can take it as far as the game will take them. .. girls cannot only play, they can play in high school, represent their college… they can go and have futures whether it’s a sideline reporter, or referee or coach at the highest level in college or NFL,” Welter said.
The idea of being a pioneer in a sport that can propel them to the next level both academically and athletically was part of the driving factor in many athletes and coaches wanting to join the league in year two.
King College Prep is entering their first year in the flag football league, and their program is excited to take advantage of the opportunity in front of them. Student-athletes Shamira Cassidy and Trinity Matthews are looking forward to being key players in changing the sports landscape for women through flag football.
“I feel like I’m helping the change,” Cassidy said. “You don’t really see too many girls football players. They don’t normalize it. We’re making a change.”
“It means a lot for women to come together and compete against each other as one,” Matthews said. “It means a lot especially as a black woman…. We just need a lot of sports out there for women in general. For it to be football, that means a lot.”
King Athletic Director Abdullah Asad has coached and played flag football for years, and understands that this sport can be a great entry point for female student-athletes.
“[Not] everybody can play volleyball , everybody doesn’t want to do cross country..it [flag football] allows another sport for the girls to play,” Asad said. “They’re competitive and confident . If you’re competitive, if you want to work hard.. That’s been the biggest thing. [And] students that may not talk to each other are now on the same team…connecting the dots for school culture.”
Asad also knows what opportunities this sport can provide his student-athletes.
“The biggest carrot I give my girls is that this may be an Olympic sport in 2028. It was in the World Games this year. Being able to tell one of the young ladies, you could potentially play in the Olympics one day if you take this seriously… there’s nothing like it. Its professional football for women and I think that’s a great opportunity.”
North Grand High School is also entering their first year in the league. North Grand Head Coach Lisa Willeumeir was a three sport athlete in high school and always loved football but was never allowed to play. And while she joined flag football leagues later in life, she says that if she was able to play flag football in high school , this would’ve been her #1 sport.
“I’m excited that these girls are getting this opportunity. I’m trying to instill a love of flag or football with these girls,” Willeumeir said. “ [I want ]them to realize they’re a pioneer in a sport.”
And because the jamboree had over 700 student-athletes in attendance, it allowed some of the athletes, like North Grand’s Melanie Mejia and King’s Shamira Cassidy to start to realize just how big of an impact they were starting to make in women’s sports.
“I’m feeling very good to be honest,” Mejia said. “Now that I see a lot of teams, it gives me more motivation to play, be on the field and have fun.”
“No matter what color jersey you have on, we’re all together as a unified team,” Cassidy said.
As the league continues to grow and expand, the opportunities it can provide the student-athletes are endless, and Jen Welter knows that.
“That means these girls can dream bigger than I ever had permission to dream. Looking back at something that was at one time impossible we see that not only is it possible, it is more and more probable “
The Chicago Public League and the Chicago Bears will continue to lead the state as girls flag football grows and Welter knows why Chicago, and flag football are changing the way society looks at women’s sports.
“Chicago is leading the way…This is 50+ teams in two years. That is epic, that is fireworks, that is everything and that is right now,” Welter said. “There’s a reason why flag for girls is the fastest growing sport in the country because it’s America’s Game. And for so long in America, the message has been it’s America’s Game as long as you’re a man. And what this shows is it’s truly just America’s Game.”
The 2022 Chicago Public League High School Girls Flag Football League will feature 7 conference games, a playoff, CPL City Championship and Chicago Bears State Series Championship featuring the top teams from the Western Suburbs, Rockford, and the top two teams from CPL this fall.
Key Dates:
Season Begins September 10, 2022
Playoffs Begin October 4, 2022
CPL City Championship – October 15, 2022 at Lane Stadium 7:00pm
Chicago Bears State Championship Series – Saturday October 29, 2022 at Halas Hall
