Inaugural Season of High School Girls Flag Football in San Diego
The prospect of girls’ flag football was met with curiosity upon the state’s announcement earlier this year that CIF would be opening it as the 31st sport to be played at the high school level. Questions arose as to which schools would field teams, what level of participation schools would see from their student bodies, and how competitive the leagues would be.
“This first season has been more than a success,” said Brandon Stone.
Brandon Stone is the sports director for KUSI and a key component to the station’s “Prep Pigskin Report,” San Diego’s only high school sports television program. He’s been covering not just high school sports but every boys’ football season in San Diego for the past 15 years. Stone attributes the success of this season to a preexisting countywide urge to compete.
“I think competing is part of the county,” said Stone. “Our athletes have always shown up regardless of what sport it is. I’m just glad we’re giving the girls a space on the football field.”
This season, although the first, made clear that young women athletes are not just here to stay, they’re here to compete. It’s showing that as long as more spaces open up for young women in sports, young women will show up for competition.
Tristan Lamb, the head coach for Bonita Vista High School’s flag football team, spent the last seven years as the head coach for the women’s basketball team at the school, a team that shares a lot of names on its roster.
“I definitely questioned them and asked them if they were interested but a lot of them were coming up to me and questioning me saying am I coaching, and if I’m coaching they’d definitely be willing to play,” said coach Lamb. “I’m their coach regardless of what sport it is, so you know I’m a tough coach to play for and they understand that. They know the expectations, and they know what they have to do to meet those expectations. They know nothing is easy, everything is earned, nothing is going to be given to them.”
As the season’s end wraps up, it’s safe to say this first season is only the start of many more to come. With over 45 teams competing across the entire San Diego section, the girls have completely taken over the gridiron, and as for the competition, there’s one team that seems to be leading the way. Bonita Vista High School, not only taking charge in San Diego but earning an overall national rank of seventh, had only one loss through their entire schedule.
Infographics made by: Diego Delgadillo
“One thing about us and me as a coach is we always want to try and be the best and in order to do that we have to beat the best,” said Bonita Vista Head Coach Tristan Lamb. “So when I put together the schedule I wanted to play a good group of teams, teams that I knew had athletes that would give us some good competition, so at the end of the season when it comes to the rankings there is no question asked as to where we should be.”
Although Bonita’s team seemed to have a dominating presence, their position didn’t come unmatched. Local sports reporter Nick James acknowledged that the girl’s season didn’t go unearned.
“Those girls can for sure ball. They had two shutouts where they put up over 50, but that’s just because those girls work hard, ” said James. “Other schools showed up to ball too. Grossmont showed them what’s up early in the season, they just made their adjustments and moved on through” referencing the team’s one loss on their record.
As the team took home the San Diego section championship title, their hard work has not gone unrecognized this season. Their presence grew in the community to a stature that might one day compete with the spectacle of Friday night lights.
“I see that crowds are getting bigger and bigger as we got deeper into the season, and you know by the time we had our senior night at home, our stands were pretty filled with a decent amount of people there,” said coach Lamb. “Word is getting out. A lot of teams are talking about us. A lot of teams in the north county have noticed us, so it’s really exciting, and the girls are loving it. They’re having fun, and they’re having fun while winning.”
The young women of Bonita Vista, not just dominating on the football field though. Through coach Lamb’s guidance, the team’s academic prowess proved they deserved the name of student-athlete.
“Most of our girls have high grades. I think our team GPA is higher than 3.0,” said coach Lamb. “The way they accept responsibility in sports is the same way they accept responsibility in the classroom. So they know when things are due it has to be done, and that’s what they bring both in athletics and in the classroom. It’s a great group of student-athletes.”
Closing off this playoff run with a title, the hope doesn’t end with the season for Bonita, as their roster holds a number of underclassmen looking to continue to compete next season. And for the rest of the county, they’ll be right there against them, for what looks like seasons to come.
“Yeah there is definitely a lot of excitement, I think pretty much countywide everybody was excited to take part in the first season of a new sport,” said coach Lamb. “I think it’s just going to do nothing but grow from here because those schools that were not able to field a team, they’re now fielding teams for next year. I think it’s very exciting, and I had a feeling the sport was going to blow up and I really think it’s blowing up on the horizon here”
“I’m definitely trying out for the team next year,” said Mia Gonzalez, a junior at Olympian High School. “I can’t sit out another season, It looked like too much fun.”
This project was produced by Diego Delgadillo as a published learning experience in JMS 430 Digital Journalism, part of the Journalism and Media Studies Program at San Diego State University.
