Girls flag football is the fastest growing sport in the Georgia High School Association, and Gilmer High will take the field this fall.
The sport was first sanctioned and offered by the GHSA in 2020.
“House Resolution 347 was passed in this latest cycle and encouraged all schools to establish flag football for girls to provide more opportunities,” said GHS athletic director Matt Johnson.
By 2024, 268 of the GHSA’s 456 member schools had a team. When the season begins in October, that number will stand at 307 participating schools, and GHS will be one of 39 to field an inaugural team.
“From coach (and county athletic director) Paul Standard and I, our standpoint, this was part of our five-year plan,” Johnson said.
“It had become pretty popular outside the state of Georgia. They started it here in 2020, and the popularity was rapidly growing. We knew we weren’t going to be able to avoid it, and we had no desire to if the interest was there. We surveyed a lot of girls and around 80-90 showed interest, but they’re also multisport athletes who play in the fall and go right into winter.”
Johnson made a presentation to the Gilmer County Board of Education back in March. He previously served as head coach of the 14-under team last year. He has also been in regular contact with athletic directors around the state who have already implemented flag football at the high school level.
“Tonya Sebring is the system athletic director in Cherokee County and kind of spearheaded this whole movement across the state. She’s met with all the athletic directors in our RESA (regional educational service agency) area so we could be prepared when it came time to add it,” Johnson said.
The sport is still in its infancy in Gilmer. There is not currently an official team at Clear Creek Middle School, though athletes can join the 14U team through the park and rec department. Their first season was in 2023, and Gilmer made its mark last year. The Lady Cats won the Mountain League and advanced to the state championship game but fell just short of the title.
This year’s GHS squad started to take shape May 15. Forty-five players showed up for tryouts, which wrapped up last Tuesday. Head Coach Chad Miller’s official roster has around 30 players, some of which will only observe at first. With the flag football season set to begin in October, it will overlap other sports seasons.
“We set up a guideline for this year, and there is some potential for change,” said Johnson. “For fall athletes (cheer, cross-country, softball and volleyball), they will be fully vested in their fall sport. They will be able to attend practices for flag football when it starts but won’t be able to participate fully. They can toss the ball around and do walk-throughs and watch film. That is subject to change.
“Some flag football players will roll right into winter sports (wrestling, swimming and basketball). In that case, they will fulfill their flag football role before going into their winter sport.”
Flag football teams will be split into four divisions. GHS has been designated as a Division 2 school and will compete in Area 7 along with Dalton Academy, Dawson County, Fannin County, Heritage, LaFayette, King’s Ridge, Model, Ringgold and Rome. Teams are allowed 10 play dates.
Two games can be played per day with 20 possible games during the regular season.
Johnson applied for a $10K grant, which GHS was awarded through the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. It will cover the majority of costs associated with the program in 2025.
“I’m super excited for these kids,” said Johnson. “It was so cool to see so many girls out there at practice and tryouts. They were just having a great time with all of it.”
More information will be available in next week’s Times-Courier.