Madera Unified launches girl's flag football teams at high schools and middle schools

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- This season, the football team at Matilda Torres High can play in the brand-new stadium.

There are seats for thousands and freshly painted yard lines.

But now there are a few extra flags on the field.

That's because all Madera Unified high schools have added girl's flag football teams.

"The more kids that we can get involved in sports, it's a connector to school, it a connects them to other kids, they have to come to school. It increases academic performance, so there's so many benefits," said MUSD Director of Athletics Marty Bitter.

Bitter says the sport is gaining popularity across the state.

With field space and the majority of the equipment already on hand, he says it just made sense.

"In this case, I kind of thought it was kind of a no-brainer. You could see that it was going to be successful. In surveying the kids, they wanted it, so it was something that we needed to provide for them." Bitter said.

Brian Mitchell jumped at the chance to take on the coaching job.

He initially knew little about flag football but soon realized he wasn't just introducing himself to the sport. It really had to start with the basics for the players, too-many of whom didn't watch regular football.

"One of our first practices, I told the girls, like, girls, go line up on the line of scrimmage. And they all kind of looked at me like, what? What is that? Ok, let's start there, ya know?" Bitter said.

One of the players, Junior Mara Cervantes, says she was familiar with football but knew little about flag football.

She signed up to get in some extra conditioning but quickly fell in love with it.

"I joined the sport, I was like, oh, this is a great way to get in share for soccer season, then coming into the field and realizing I'm actually pretty good. I was just like, what if I've been playing the wrong sport the whole time?" Cervantes said.

Mitchell says Mara and her teammates' passion for the game and commitment to learning helped them grow leaps and bounds in a short period of time.

"Now they're sending me, you know, different plays, different play ideas, and you know, they're just really into the game," Mitchell said.

MUSD is hoping the growth continues with future students.

To prepare them, the district launched teams at the middle schools as well, becoming the first in the state to do so.

Mara says she's looking forward to her future on the field.

"I feel like for the rest of the season, we're excited to just keep on winning, keep on winning, keep on winning, yes," Cervantes said.

There has been so much interest in the sport here that next year, MUSD hopes to have a JV and varsity team, as well as a 7th and 8th-grade team.

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