Written by Maureen Kyle
Jay Jones photographed by Chris Blake, 3News
The NFL says nearly 500,000 girls between the ages of 6 and 17 played in an organized flag football league last year, and this year, numbers are growing again.
MASSILLON, Ohio — "Today, we're hosting the Ohio Girls High School Flag Football Camp at Massillon High School."
We're with Hannah Lee, who is manager of Youth Football with the Cleveland Browns. Of the more than 200 teenage girls at camp this day, only some have played organized football before, but all have grown up with the sport.
"My whole family is football players," Jay Jones says, "so they love football."
"My dad goes to football camps and stuff and he helps out me and my sister," Candace Dolan shared.
"Females are the future," Lee adds. "Football has been in Ohio for over 100 years, and girls high school flag within the past four has taken off."
Lee says the Browns and NFL both see an opportunity.
"We've seen the growth from two teams to 51 this past year in Northeast Ohio."
One of those players is Jay Jones.
"I love catching and I love being on defense," Jones, who has dreams of playing on a larger stage, told us. "Football is on my mind 24/7. I'm always watching football clips like when I see people playing football, I'm like, 'That's a good catch!' ... I want to be up there. I want people to see me on TV and be like, 'Jay Jones just made the best catch!'"
Then there's soon-to-be-freshman Candace Dolan.
"I brought some of my teammates with me," she said, "and we're just going to have some fun and play football."
Dolan attends football powerhouse Archbishop Hoban, and is determined to break stereotypes.
"A lot of people are like, 'Girls don't play football,' but just being out here today proves that we could play football and we can do what anyone else could do," Dolan explained. "It is the future!"
NFL Senior Advisor Mike Daniels admits "it is the future," so much so that he came to see the girls play.
"It's the No. 1 priority for the league office, and when you start thinking about internally and domestically but also too internationally," he said. "This will become a worldwide sport."
In 2020, the NFL started teaming up with other organizations to grow women's flag football on the collegiate level, even getting scholarships to play. High School teams are playing in tournaments organized by the Browns, and in four years, flag football will officially become an Olympic sport.
For flag football, the future is female, with professionals making sure girls get the opportunities they've been denied for decades. Lee is happy to be part of the effort to make these opportunities happen.
"I wish I had it," she admitted. "I definitely would have played, but it's good to be in my position now, to give back to these girls."
Earlier this year, Tennessee and Colorado became the 10th and 11th states respectively to make girls flag football a state-sanctioned sport. The Browns and thousands of girls are hoping Ohio becomes the 12th.
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