Girls’ Flag Football Takes the Field at Poly

Girls’ flag football—the fastest-growing girls’ sport in California—is officially taking root at Poly, thanks to a student-led effort. What began as a Google Form and a one-day flag football event has now become a full-fledged team, creating new opportunities for girls to compete and build community on campus.

For Brynn C. ’27, the spark came as she entered her junior year, when she decided to see if there was enough interest to launch a program.

“I sent an email to like a bunch of girls in the Upper School asking, ‘Would you guys be interested in a flag football program before spring break?’” Brynn said. “I sent out a Google Form. I got responses, and at the time what I kind of understood is if I got like 15 yeses, we could probably initiate it.”

They came close, but not quite. When spring break ended and the sign-up email for fall sports went out, Brynn figured it was too late and set the idea aside—for a while.

The turning point came during Women’s Service Week last year, when Poly hosted an all-grade girls’ flag football day. The energy on the field was undeniable. Claire H. ’28 remembers it clearly.

“After we did the girls’ flag football day for the high school, I just had so much fun,” Claire said. “Football—like throwing and catching—wasn’t really my thing because I play soccer … After I had that day, I was like, this is so much fun! I really wanted to start this team.”

Claire is now a team captain alongside Harper D. ’28, who had a similar reaction.

“My brother played football when he was growing up,” Harper said. “I kind of would throw and catch with my dad sometimes, and I’ve always been interested in watching it too, but I’d never actually played before. During our practices for the little Powderpuff day, I noticed how it really brought the girls in our grade together because we were kind of hanging out with people that we didn’t normally hang out with during school. I noticed this could really bring together different crowds of girls.”

That sense of connection, combined with renewed interest after the girls’ flag football day, pushed the idea forward again. Harper and Claire reached out to Brynn, knowing she had tried to get the program off the ground the year before.

Together, they met with Athletic Director Scott Bello to discuss logistics and then sent out another interest form. This time, the response was even stronger, and the program officially went from idea to reality.

The new team will compete within the Prep League and against other schools offering the sport, many of which are also new to girls’ flag football.

“I want us to set good intentions as a team—to go out and put our full effort in and hopefully come away with a few wins by the end of the season and maybe even make playoffs—would be awesome,” said Brynn.

Despite being a first-year program, the roster is filled with multi-sport athletes. Brynn plays softball, Claire plays soccer, and Harper plays basketball, while their teammates compete in a variety of other Poly sports. Many are trying flag football for the first time, but the captains see that as a strength rather than a limitation.

“We definitely have a very athletic group of girls,” Brynn said. “Getting to bring them into a new environment and play as a group with really competitive athletes definitely shows us that we can go very far.”

The team is also notably young, made up largely of freshmen and sophomores, including both returning Poly students and those new to the school.

“It’s been really fun to watch our young team grow because I don’t think any of them had a background in football,” said Harper. “I think all of them and all of us have grown a lot, and we’ve all gotten a lot better in the past five weeks that we’ve been practicing.”

From the outset, the group has embraced a serious training plan: weight room twice a week and agility work on Wednesdays, all layered on top of learning formations, routes and strategies.

“One of the main goals of Outdoor Ed is to get to know a bunch of different people in an environment outside of school,” Claire said. “Flag football is kind of similar in that way because we’re getting to know people from different grades, people that we wouldn’t normally have interacted with in a normal school day. The flag football team is good for bringing people together and just creating more of a familiarity on campus.”

Beyond wins and losses, the players are aware of the bigger picture: By launching girls’ flag football at Poly, they are helping expand opportunities for future students.

“Being able to start that thing that so many people will be able to enjoy in the future is really special,” Claire said. “Starting something—especially leaving your legacy at Poly, your impact at Poly—is really meaningful.”