One town, one football team: SCHS sees another year without girls’ flag football

Charlotte Yeskulsky | Writer

September 28, 2023

In an exciting announcement last February, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) officially added girls’ flag football to the list of sports available to all schools under its banner. After the widespread promotion of this much anticipated and now sanctioned sport, CIF encourages schools to start their girls’ flag football teams. But despite the many rumors and hopes surrounding the idea of San Clemente having its first team, female student-athletes began the school year with many unanswered questions. 

While San Clemente passed up on the opportunity to add the sport this year, nearby rival San Juan Hills took the initiative. They created their girls’ flag football team three years ago, even before CIF officially recognized it. They now have junior and varsity teams, making their presence known in the South Coast League alongside other rival, Aliso Niguel. While other SCHS sports teams have challenged SJH for league titles yearly, not having a girls’ flag football team leaves their team uncontested.

Many female athletes, confused about the absence of the sport in the long list of SCHS athletic offerings, are left with one question: why not? If rivalry isn’t enough reason, another question is where the program would receive its funding. According to Paul Rodas, the President-elect of the CIF Southern Section Council, the starting cost for a girls’ flag football program, which includes balls, flags, cones, and uniforms, ranges from $2,000 to $2,500 (as reported by the Los Angeles Times). With the enthusiasm of female students and supportive fundraising efforts, this financial obstacle is feasible. Another concern raised is field availability since girls’ flag football would run during the fall, which overlaps with football practices. Much like how girls’ lacrosse adjusts its schedule in the spring, they could use the local Vista Hermosa facility, ensuring both sports have the field space they need.

One undeniable fact is that most female students would love for this program to become a reality and are willing to play. Addie Robertson, a girls’ varsity soccer team senior, commented, “I can confidently say that almost every girl on the team would jump at the chance to play if we had a girls’ flag football team.”

Junior Brianna Diaz, daughter of Jason Diaz, the defensive coordinator for the Tritons football team, has watched nearly every SCHS football game since she was three years old and also believes that, “If enough girls want to join and put in the hard work, not even considering giving girls flag football a chance is just unfair.”

San Clemente High does have the Lady Triton Bowl, commonly known as Powder Puff, which is an exciting event where juniors and seniors play a game of flag football, encouraging many students and parents to come out to support. While this event has become a tradition at SCHS, it limits the girls to only playing one day a year and excludes lower-classmen from participating. This one-day-a-year event doesn’t fill the need for a regular girls’ flag football team. 

Unfortunately, seniors like Robertson will not see this becoming a reality within their personal high school careers. She added, “It’s disappointing that this is my final year, and I won’t get the chance to see it happen.” As we look ahead, the question remains: will the talk of having a girls’ flag football team at the school remain a rumor, or will we see progress toward making it a reality for the 2024 season? 

UPDATE Triton Athletic Director Jon Hamro has said, “We will have a full girls’ flag football program in the Fall of 2024 and there is a plan in place to make that happen. There will be no field issues because girls’ flag football will have equal access to our facilities just like any other sport.”