How come there are so many sports in the world, but high schools only have a select few? Sports in high school are mostly limited to gender, so why does each sport not have a girls’ and boys’ team to accompany it? IHSA has taken steps to change that and has allowed girls’ flag football to become a sport in all high schools in Illinois. At Glenbard South High School, girls’ flag football has become an official sport.
This is a new sport that has been introduced to the Glenbard South fall sports, and it allows for many girls to participate in a new sport for which there are no cuts. Additionally, it allows for them to be part of something new.
Junior Genevieve Corbin was the one who brought girls’ flag football to South. Genevieve stated, “I started playing football in middle school on the Golden Eagles and I thought it was really fun, so I joined this year. My favorite memory of this year was our first win against East because it showed how much we were growing as a team and personally. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned this season is to stop getting in my head because everyone makes mistakes, and you can’t let them ruin the rest of your game.” Adding on, senior Hannah Galvan said, “When I’m playing, I feel like myself. I get to run and don’t have to think. [Flag football is] something I never played and, as a senior, it’s special because I get to be a part of starting a new program at South. I felt like I had a lot more value on this team. As a captain, I had to step up and be a leader [and] set an example, which helped me grow as a person.”
Due to flag football being such a new sport to South, the people who are playing this year are still watching the sport grow and have obtained personal growth throughout the season. This is a growing sport throughout the USA, so, at South, fans of the sport are hoping for more and more people to join and experience something they may never have experienced before. If you feel like this is a sport that you may be interested in, go ahead and try it out in the fall 2025 season!
