High school girls flag football launches in Northern Virginia

ASHBURN, Va. (DC News Now) — A new era of high school sports has kicked off in Northern Virginia.

Prince William County Public Schools added girls’ flag footballon Tuesday at the Washington Commanders training complex.

“I’ve been playing football since fourth grade in a different league,” Osbourn Park’s Saniyah Denny said. “So when I came to high school, I was. I knew I had to try out.”

All four teams traveled to Loudon County because the Commanders made all of this possible. The team announced in August that it would spend $1 million to grow the sport in 127 programs around the DMV.

“It’s important for the Commanders to do this because we believe everyone that wants to play football should have the opportunity to do so,” said Dan Levy, the Commanders’ director of youth football.

The money covers 25 custom Nike uniforms for each program, an NFL flag kit, 10 footballs, and instructional materials. Osbourn Park’s head coach believes the new sport is long overdue.

“If nothing else, it just means that they are not only good enough, maybe even better than some of the male counterparts that they’ve encountered,” Jillian Roch said. “Some of them have gone from the boys teams, and now they’re able to have their own team, which is really great.”

The Commanders said they will also team up with the Baltimore Ravens to help get the sport sanctioned in Maryland so there can be a state champion.