This winter, Wake County has partnered with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers to start a brand new women’s flag football league. The league, which all Wake County schools are participating in, gives girls the opportunity to compete in the male-dominated sport and have a lot of fun along the way.
One of the players of the new team is senior Mollie Shoaf. With this being her final year at Wakefield, Shoaf jumped at the chance to try out for Wakefield’s first-ever women’s flag football team.
“A lot of my friends were talking about it, and I thought it was a cool opportunity especially because I’m a senior and I thought it would be fun,” Shoaf said.
Shoaf was not alone in this. Another senior on the team, Johara Walker, appreciates the opportunity being on this team gives her as she develops as an athlete. Like many other girls on the team, flag football is not her primary sport — basketball is. However, this does not stop Walker from trying her hardest on the field with her teammates.
“The only goals I have for this season are to win and have fun while doing it,” Walker said.
Coach Danielle Blackburn cannot wait to see how the ladies do this season and beyond, not just in terms of winning games, but in developing a positive team culture.
“Being a part of a team is special,” Blackburn said. “When I coached basketball, I wanted everyone that played on the team to have a good experience, and that’s what I hope these girls have.”
Senior Tiffany Bediner is also glad to be a part of the team. As a full-time swimmer in addition to playing flag football, it can be challenging to balance the two sports, but to her, it’s worth it.
“I decided to try out for our flag football team because I knew that this was the first year our school was offering this sport,” Bediner said. “As a competitive swimmer my whole life, I have always been in an individual sport, but this has allowed me to truly feel like I am a part of a team.”
With the five-week season just starting up and several games coming up the next few Saturdays, the women of Wakefield flag football can’t wait to learn new things, meet new people, play football and raise awareness to the importance of women’s sports.
“I think that [starting the team] is a good idea because it gives people a lot of new opportunities,” Shoaf said. “A lot of people were interested in playing so it’s a good way to get a lot of people involved in activities that they wouldn’t do before.”
While this is not the first time public school systems across America have sanctioned flag football as an official women’s sport, it is still extremely important for these women to have the chance to showcase their athleticism. As more and more schools begin adopting this sport, more women have the opportunity to make their impact on sports.
“I would’ve loved to have something like this when I was in high school,” Blackburn said. “I think it’s a long time coming and I want the girls to have the opportunity to play.”
