Girls’ flag football redefines Friday night lights in Austin

From KUT News:

Seventeen-year-old Kafia Jackson-Woods jumped in place with nerves and excitement on Friday night as she waited to join her team on the football field.

The track star turned running back from McCallum High School had helped her team secure a spot in Austin ISD’s first-ever girls’ flag football championship.

Now, Jackson-Woods and her fellow Knights were about the face off against an undefeated team from Bowie High School.

“I feel like if we really try in this game, we can beat Bowie,” she said before the game. “If we really work hard.”

Jackson-Woods’ hard work was evident when she took the field against Bowie. Her teammates cheered after she made a big catch, only to follow it up by an even bigger run as she exposed gaps in the Bowie Bulldogs’ defense.

But ultimately, Jackson-Woods and her teammates failed to find enough momentum to make it into the end-zone — resulting in a hard-fought 8-0 loss to Bowie.

A solemn mood descended upon McCallum’s sideline as the team watched players from Bowie celebrate.

Jackson-Woods rattled off a list of improvements she and her teammates should have made during the game before saying, “I’m really proud. I think we did a really good job.”

Her coach, Thomas Gammerdinger, agreed.

“You feel disappointed, but I don’t think that takes away, on the whole, how proud of the girls I am, and how much fun I had coaching them,” he said.

Gammerdinger, who serves as McCallum’s athletic director and head football coach, said he got very excited when he learned the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys were expanding its girls’ flag football program to Austin ISD earlier this year.

“I got two little girls. I always wished I had a boy, so I could coach him in football, but now I might have that opportunity with [my daughters],” Gammerdinger said. “I think it’s awesome for everybody involved.”

The Cowboys’ program first launched in Fort Worth in 2022 and has since expanded to include more than 100 participating high schools across the state.

“Now that it is growing within the City of Dallas, we said, ‘Hey, why don’t we reach out to Austin and see if they’re interested?'” said Danny McCray, youth football development manager for the Cowboys.

Crystal Victorino, one of Austin ISD’s area athletic coordinators, said the district jumped at the chance to partner with the Cowboys.

“It’s just another great avenue for our kids,” she said. “And I think that’s the best we can ask for — just giving our kids here in Austin ISD an opportunity.”

Victorino said 12 of the district’s 13 high schools decided to participate in the program this season.

She said schools had no trouble recruiting players to try the new sport.

“As soon as [the students] heard, I think within 30 minutes we had one full team filled already,” Victorino said.

That did not come as a surprise to McCray.

“I know a lot of the young ladies that would always say, ‘Hey, why don’t we have football?’ I’m saying to them now, ‘Hey, the opportunity is here,'” the former NFL and Cowboys defensive back said.

McCray cited the growth of the sport in higher education, as well as the addition of flag football to the LA 2028 Summer Olympic Games, as reasons for increased interest in the sport.

But, like Gammerdinger, McCray said he also has a personal interest in the sport.

“I have a four-year-old who likes football because she saw her dad play football … so now she is playing flag football,” he said. “That’s my personal inspiration for this.”

McCray said one of the long-term goals of the program is to make flag football an official varsity sport in Texas.

Right now, only 14 states recognize girls flag football at that level, according to the NFL.

But there is hope that will change. Several states, including Texas, have pilot programs to help evaluate the full adoption of girls flag football as a state-sanctioned sport. In Texas, that would mean recognition from the University Interscholastic League which currently sponsors 14 sports at the high school level.

“The next progression would be to hopefully get more cities involved and then UIL sanctioning,” McCray said. “Then this turns into something that looks similar to like boys tackle [football].”

A UIL spokesperson acknowledged these efforts in a statement emailed to KUT News.

“For the UIL Legislative Council to consider sanctioning any new activity, there needs to be established programs and widespread participation across multiple districts and regions of the state, along with a strong push from member schools,” the spokesperson said. “While we haven’t seen that level of development for flag football yet, we look forward to following its continued growth.”

The Cowboys aren’t alone in creating that growth. The state’s other NFL team, the Houston Texans, also expanded its girls’ flag football program to the Austin area this spring. Officials from both Austin ISD and Round Rock ISD said there are plans for the leagues to continue next school year.

The Texans hosted an end-of-season tournament last Wednesday for the program’s participating schools from the Round Rock, Pflugerville and Leander school districts.

In that league, 16-year-old Landri Smit, a wide receiver and free safety from Rouse High School, helped her team secure the program’s first Austin-area championship.

“Being undefeated has just felt amazing, and it’s such a testament to our hard work this season,” she said after the big game.

Smit, who also plays flag football for the 17 and under girls national team, said she feels like she’s gotten a “front row seat” to the sport’s growth in the Austin area.

“Representing my school with girls who have never played before, and showing them the game and seeing the spark in them grow … has been the most memorable thing about this season,” she said. “That’s what’s going to get the sport to grow more.”

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