Inaugurating the field this fall is the Girls Flag Football Team. Supported by The Washington Commanders NFL team, this club sport is breaking barriers for women’s sport within Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and beyond.
“There is going to be the first touchdown pass, the first touchdown, the first interception–a lot of things that are going to go down in the record books, and I think that part is exciting,” head coach and administrative assistant Jewad Abdulhadi said.
The league was introduced to the FCPS board meeting in March. Since then, The Commanders have partnered with 127 programs across the DMV to support the growth of the sport among youth, investing over $1 million into the program. They will provide each school with 25 custom Nike jerseys, which were revealed at AHS on the 30th, flags, footballs, and instructional assistance in the form of clinics for both coaches and players.
“I think it’s really cool seeing that an actual NFL team is interested and is willing to support a couple of girls who want to play flag football in a small league,” senior, and potential quarterback for the team, Sophia Sewall said.
The Atoms will play weekly 7v7 48-minute games against the five teams in its district, with AHS hosting the first game on Oct. 14. A playoff pulling from the 25 participating FCPS schools will conclude the season.
So far, the sport has garnered intense interest among current AHS athletes and newcomers to sports. About 80 girls attended the team’s interest meeting, on August 27. Abdulhadi is leading the team with the help of his assistant coaches, history & social studies teacher Victoria Lisle and ESOL teacher Jasmine Welgoss. Abdulhadi described the turnout as, “overwhelming” and Activities Director Brandon Sutphin said he was, “shocked” at the numbers.
“For it to be brand new, and not a lot of people really know what it is going to look like, it speaks volumes to just showing that girls at the school want to get involved,” Sutphin said.
Around 20 girls showed up to their first day of practice on September 15. Abdulhadi, who previously coached the boys Varsity Football from 2011-2013, understands the importance of teaching fundamental skills to grow the team as a unified whole.
“Right now, we are just working on catching, throwing and flag pulling. Those are the three most important things in flag football. We’re really keeping it basic because we want everyone to have an opportunity,” he said.
That means review for some but the emphasis is on team building: “Practices are a little slow, but if we keep practicing and consistent we will have better chemistry together,” freshman, and potential wide receiver on the team, Zahra Ouallah said.
Additional VHSL fall sport athletes are also interested in playing. The Athletics Office encourages such participation, although they make clear official sports hold precedent over flag football, which in its pilot year is only a club.
“I think our coaches do a great job of understanding that we share a lot of athletes, but no one has expressed concern,” since VHSL athletes are not skipping mandatory practices, Sutphin said.
Many valuable players do not have time to join practices, held Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 5PM, until the end of the fall sports season. However, Abdulhadi anticipates that next year when flag football starts on August 1, things could change.
“Kids can decide if they want to play flag football over their current sport. It might hurt the other teams, but will just give more opportunities for everybody across the board,” he said.
The skill level of the Atoms’ competition is still unclear, as other schools are in the same position.
“I want to put a good product out there and I want the girls to feel comfortable on the field. We might not win every game, but I want to be able to compete,” Abdulhadi said.
Sutphin plans to treat the girl’s games no differently than football, requiring regular admission fees to games and giving the girls a spectacular entrance to the field through the blowup tunnel, smoke bombs, and possibly even the Freshman Cheer Team.
“I think it’d be pretty cool being on the same level as the boys and running out of the tunnel. I understand that [the games will] never gonna be the size of the boys, but I like the fact that they’re making an effort trying to make it as equal as possible,” Sewall said.
