Redwood is fortunate enough to offer a multitude of men’s and women’s sports to play throughout the school year, but even so, a lot of student-athletes are left wanting more. For women, Redwood fall sports include tennis, volleyball, golf, field hockey, water polo, cross country and cheerleading. Subsequently, there are no field-based contact sports.
At the same time, women’s flag football high school leagues are starting everywhere. As of the 2023-24 school year, flag football has been recognized as an official high school sport in California, and there is no reason why Redwood High School with its rich history of excellence in athletics, shouldn’t have a team. While all of the sports offered in the fall require athletes to have significant athleticism and skill level in the sport, the lack of contact-based physicality takes away the opportunity to have beneficial cross training for athletes in other sports. In addition, a fall contact sport would provide a positive and inclusive space to compete for student-athletes.
Olivia Kim is a junior and will be joining the varsity girls lacrosse team for a second season this spring. She shares how having the option for a sport like flag football would not only be something she is interested in, but would also give her the opportunity to develop skills that would benefit her lacrosse career.
“I have never played flag football, but I think the footwork and running would make me quicker and a better dodger [in lacrosse],” Kim said.
Similarly, varsity soccer player Caitlin Titcombe notes how flag football would be a better fall training for that sport than her current one, field hockey.
“I love field hockey and the spacing and ball movement is similar to soccer, but if flag football was an option, that’s what I would be doing in the fall. I feel like it would be more physically rigorous where field hockey isn’t, and the running would help me get in shape for soccer season,” Titcombe said.
In addition to its cross training benefits, everyone would be learning to play flag football for the first time due to the scarcity of opportunity in Marin, creating the opportunity to have a positive and welcoming environment on the team.
“Every other sport has girls who have been playing basically since they could walk, so something where we could all learn and develop at the same time would be really fun. It would be really exciting to be involved in the start of it,” Kim said.
“[Flag football] would be a nice option since it probably wouldn’t be as competitive as other sports that people have been playing for years. I feel like since everyone is learning how to do it together there would be an aspect of inclusivity,” Titcombe said.
Independently from Redwood, Next Level Sports has flag football teams in Marin for girls grades 1st- 6th. Senior Sadie Haan, played on a team in 5th grade. She recalls it being an extremely fun experience with friends, and something she would still enjoy to this day.
“[Flag football] is a fun sport in general and it was great back then because I did it with a bunch of my friends. It was sort of just a silly thing we all looked forward to on the weekends. I don’t play a fall sport, but if Redwood had a [flag football] team I would definitely consider playing, ” Haan said.
For juniors and senior girls at Redwood, there is the annual Powderpuff game, where the grades face off in a flag football game coached by varsity boys’ football players. As much as it is a popular event to watch, there is significant demand to participate in the game from juniors and seniors, resulting in the creation of a raffle to get to play.
“I played in the powderpuff game last year and I am definitely going to play again this year if I get in. I think a real flag football team could be possible [at Redwood] based on how much interest there always is around Powderpuff,” Haan said.
