Luke Tannourji

A girls flag football player runs across the field during the Aug. 22 game.

LOS ALAMITOS, CA — Out on the field, the players of Los Alamitos High School’s first girls flag football team break from their assembly and begin the game with fiery passion. Clothed in blue jerseys with white numbers printed on the back, the girls expertly dodge flying hands and run towards their designated positions in a display of impressive skills.

“It is such a unique sport because the athletes are often learning dynamics about the game, while the sport is still being developed by the CIF,” junior and quarterback Rylee Robles said. “Flag football, although being somewhat similar to tackle football, gives athletes an opportunity to engage with the sport, but rather than tackling, the opposing team aims to pull flags.”

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Los Al has officially developed the first girls flag football team, which is coached by Coach Hart. 

“Before our first game, we were practicing every day aside from weekends, but now that the season has started and we play two games a week, we practice two to three days a week with the time we have and run through key things prior to the game,” Coach Hart said.

The arrival of a girls flag football team at Los Al is something that has been in development for years, but the idea did not become a reality until the beginning of this school year. 

Coach Hart personally credited Rylee Robles with her commitment to the team.

“[Originally] I inquired about Los Al having a team, but it was not known yet,” she said. “However, [junior] Rylee Robles took matters into her own hands and started to spread the word to get interest right away.”

Robles immediately took the responsibility upon herself to spread interest in girls flag football around campus. Robles received immense support from Principal Kraus and personally campaigned and advertised the arrival of a girls flag football team at Los Al. Through her consistent commitment, the team saw sufficient interest, as over 30 girls had shown up to try-outs. 

The dream was hard to believe, and Robles felt unsure about how realistic a girls flag football team would be in high school. But the development turned out to be an incredibly proud moment in her life.

“I always thought that the extent of my playing experience would be limited to FNL, and never in my dreams did I believe I would have the opportunity to be a high school football player,” Robles said.

The preparation of the girls flag football team would come with many struggles, given that the team had limited time to prepare for their season by enlisting members, practicing, and collecting supplies.

“The only hurdle was that there wasn’t much time,” Robles said. “We had camp, tryouts, and team announcements all within a three-week time frame. After that there [were] only two weeks of practice before the first game.”

However, the girls on both the JV and varsity teams powered through, and their hard work translated to great improvements while simultaneously building a great bond between all of the girls.

“Our varsity and JV teams are incredibly close, which creates a very strong and encouraging team atmosphere! We always practice together at the same time each day, travel together, and support each other no matter which team is playing,” Robles said.

By encouraging young women to play on a high school flag football team, Los Al is offering more equal opportunities for its students. Ranging from access to funding to the competitions that will take place, the Los Al girls flag football team has the ability to reach great heights.