Why girls flag football is growing in WPIAL, Butler County as PIAA nears sanctioning sport
Abbi Speicher has been surrounded by football her entire life and gained a passion for it long ago. The thought of representing her school while playing the sport was too strong to ignore.
“I have seven siblings and my dad’s family is really big,” said Speicher, an incoming junior at Seneca Valley. “We’ve had Steeler parties at my grandma’s house and would play football in the yard. I grew up with it.
“I always wanted to play for a team, but my parents didn’t want me to play tackle football. I have a condition that affects the valves in my heart.”
After learning of several high schools near Pittsburgh that offered flag football for girls, Speicher took her proposal to athletic director Heather Lewis.
“I thought it was a good idea,” Lewis said. “I told Abbi to ask around, see how many girls were interested. She came back a few weeks later and showed me a list. From that, I thought we could get between 15 and 20 girls. But when we had an informational meeting in the auditorium, the place was packed.”
The school board approved the sport and the Raiders ended up fielding two squads this past spring. SV Blue went 5-4-1 and just missed out on a 12-team playoff tournament. SV Black, made up of sophomores and freshmen, went 0-10.
“Our original plan was to have a varsity and junior varsity team,” said SV coach Chris Eden. “We ended up with 43 players; and since one of the teams that had been part of the league dropped out, that would have created an uneven schedule in our division, so we were allowed to have two varsity teams.
“All the girls got experience, and that was the most important thing.”
Speicher, who was medically cleared to participate by a cardiologist, played quarterback for both squads.
“I was surprised at the number of girls who ended up coming out,” she said. “When I started asking my classmates, I got more rejections than girls who said they were interested.
“I had so much fun and loved being part of the team.”
Seneca Valley’s foray into flag football is part of a burgeoning interest in the sport. In 2022, only six WPIAL schools fielded a team — North Allegheny, Shaler, Moon, Ellis School, Ambridge and West Allegheny. The number swelled to 33 last spring, with more than 100 schools competing around the state.
In May, the PIAA Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve the first reading in the process of sanctioning girls flag football. To become an official high school sport in the state, a total of three readings must be approved. The next PIAA board meeting is Wednesday, and the sport could be fully sanctioned as early as this summer.
Once the sport is sanctioned, the 12 PIAA districts across the state, including the WPIAL, can begin overseeing scheduling, playoff tournaments and crowning a champion.
“This is similar to the path taken by girls wrestling,” said Lyndsay Barna, assistant executive director of the PIAA. “The first school sanctioned that sport in 2020, it was approved by the board in May 2023 and the first (state) championships were held last March. That process was slowed by COVID, but this is a very exciting time to offer more opportunities for girls to get involved.”
The NFL, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in particular, have played a key role in sparking interest in flag football in the region.
“They gave us a grant, which was used to buy uniforms and compensate coaches for transportation,” said Lewis. “They’ve helped a lot of schools get their programs off the ground.”
North Catholic launched its program in 2023 with 19 players. The Trojanettes reached the playoffs in both seasons.
“There was really good interest our first year,” North coach Tim Aguglia said. “The girls had a ton of fun and the momentum just skyrocketed from there. This past season, we had 37 girls out. We had a core of about 18 who regularly saw time in games, but all of our players saw action at the varsity level. We also held a number of split-squad scrimmages.
“A lot of these kids go to the football games on Friday night in the fall. We’re teaching them a lot of the same concepts, and it’s fun to watch them learn.”
Game play was originally set at 5-on-5 action on the field, but was bumped to 7-on-7 this past season due to increased roster sizes.
The wave of girls flag football shows no signs of slowing down.
“It’s incredibly refreshing to see the kids buy in,” Eden said. “The girls showed a lot of excitement and they embraced the sport. They made so much progress from the beginning of the season to the end.
“We are preparing for it to be a full-fledged sport next spring and will be working in the weight room in the offseason. We have a (run-pass option) scheme and will implement offensive and defensive concepts.”
Said Lewis: “The interest I saw from the girls blew me away. They took so much pride in wearing their uniform. When I say they loved it, they really loved it.”
Aguglia believes the sport can prove to be a good fit for many girls.
“You don’t have to be the fastest, biggest or strongest,” he said. “If you can pull a flag, you can find a spot on the field.”
