Girls take to the gridiron in new high school pilot program

Joshua Ardoin has experienced many proud moments this year as head coach of the first girls’ flag football team at St. Michael the Archangel High School.

These moments are often the result of pre-game preparations and game-time decision making. Ardoin remembers a game played early in the season against Woodlawn High School, where preparation started with a review of the opposing team’s game play.

“We had broken down film throughout the week. There was something we saw that we thought we could take advantage of, so we put in a new play, went out, practiced and played,” Ardoin says. 

But all of this preparation came to a halt when the game started. “Right when we got into the game, they were doing something different from what they had shown on film. I really wanted to get that play. I thought we could bait them,” Ardoin says. 

Ardoin encouraged the girls to be patient and keep trying even though things weren’t initially going their way. It wasn’t long before their strategy proved useful.

“We hit the play and scored. I was telling [the players] afterwards that whole process is quintessential football right there,” Ardoin says. “And if we can do that, if, as a team, we can study our opponent, put in things that allow us to adapt within a week, and you guys can run it effectively, the sky’s the limit on what we can end up doing. That’s a mark of a good football team.”

In recent years, girls’ flag football has claimed its place as an emerging sport in high school, collegiate, and professional settings. Thanks to programs like NFL Flag, girls across the United States can now compete at their own schools. 

As the sport gains more support and funding, more opportunities emerge. According to the NFL Flag program, 30 states have official high school flag football programs for girls. Flag football, for both men and women, is even making its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 

For girls in Louisiana, the opportunity to be a part of this national movement is now a possibility. In partnership with the NFL, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association has launched a pilot program to bring girls’ flag football to high schools across the state. 

St. Michael’s inaugural flag football team started up practices in late January. Ardoin, who also works with the boys’ football team, immediately noticed a difference when coaching these girls.

“I’ve never coached girls before, so it’s been kind of interesting to see a little bit of a different dynamic,” he says. “They’re much more supportive instead of always super competitive. They lift each other up.”

Their St. Michael team carries a roster of 18 players ranging from freshmen to seniors. Some students are part of other sports teams, and some have never played a sport before. 

Although there is no tackling in flag football, many of the game’s essential elements remain the same as traditional football. The teams are smaller, with five to seven players on the field at a time rather than eight, and rules about physical contact are stricter, but many of the roles remain the same. 

Senior Ava Rodrigue decided to join St. Michael’s girls’ flag football team at the end of her volleyball season. She had played football recreationally with her dad and brother growing up, but says she was surprised to learn just how much goes into the game.

“I wasn’t really expecting it to be as mentally demanding as it is,” Rodrigue says. “I guess volleyball is a lot of thinking, and I was kind of expecting [flag football] to be more laid back, but it’s actually almost more than volleyball.”

With support from the New Orleans Saints and many interested high schools, the girls’ flag football is currently in its probationary period. The LHSAA program began in 2024 with 10 teams in Jefferson and Orleans parishes, and has grown this year to over 60 teams across 10 districts. Several schools in the Capital Area are part of the pilot program, including Woodlawn, St. Amant, Louisiana School for the Deaf, GEO Next, Northeast, Scotlandville, Glen Oaks and Madison Prep. If all the LHSAA’s terms are met during this probationary period, a committee will vote to sanction girls’ flag football in Louisiana. 

St. Michael’s Athletic Director Robert Smith hopes for success statewide so the sport can continue to grow at the school. 

“We’ve got kids that don’t play any other sports, that are out there and being successful, contributing and learning how to be part of a team, learning how to work with others, learning how to win and how to lose, so it’s definitely something we want to continue to grow,” Smith says. “I hope that the Saints and the LHSAA can help make that happen because I think our kids love it.”

Current players don’t want to see the program removed, either. Brynnan Kuber, a senior at St. Michael who plays as a wide receiver on the team, says she is grateful to be a part of this unique experience. 

“To have this opportunity as the first class to do it—I’m just grateful,” Kuber says. “Being able to see it possibly become an actual sport, I feel like it would be so fun to come back and see the growth.”