Flag football leagues are expanding to Richmond as sport’s popularity soars

Under the bright lights of the artificial field at Martin Luther King Jr. Park on a recent night the atmosphere was high energy as more than 50 enthusiastic children and teens gathered for a flag football clinic.

For more than two hours, they ran pass patterns and threw footballs in their red San Francisco 49ers jerseys at a clinic hosted by the NFL Flag Football League and the Richmond Police Activities League (RPAL) to drum up interest in one of several flag football leagues now operating in west Contra Costa County. The National Police Activities League sponsored the event.

“Flag football brings a great opportunity to kids,” said Jordan Woods, a growth manager at RCX Sports, which manages the youth football programs for the NFL Flag organization. “It’s more accessible. All types of kids can play this game.”

Indeed, Richmond is part of a fast-growing national flag football trend.

According to NFL Flag, 2.4 million children under age 17 are playing flag football in the United States —  a more than 71% increase from 1.7 million children in 2023.

Meanwhile, participation in youth tackle football has declined by 12% since its peak in 2008, falling below 1 million participants for the first time.

Pop Warner youth tackle football, which has been around for nearly 100 years, has apparently taken notice.

The nonprofit organization has signed a deal with NFL Flag to start offering flag football programs.

In addition, there are 17 states, including California, that now sanction girls flag football in high school. The girls division is the fastest growing component of the sport, increasing 25% year over year. There are also college scholarships for women players offered by nearly 60 colleges and universities.

And, to further solidify the point: Flag football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

According to Scoreboard Fundraising, more parents are choosing flag football because:

• It has less contact and is therefore safer than tackle football;
• It is less expensive than tackle football because it requires simpler equipment and less travel (local leagues cost from about $155 to $175); and
• It is more accessible to players who may are physically smaller than their peers.

Richmond flag football leagues are aplenty

Richmond area children who want to compete in flag football have a number of options.

• Blue Chip Sports oversees a local league with a fall season that runs from Oct. 5 to Nov. 16 and a winter season that competes from Jan. 25 to March 8. There is also a spring league that runs from April 12 to May 31. The league has seven divisions ranging from Pee Wee to Pro. All games are played at Richmond High School. Boys and girls are both welcome.

• 49er Prep Flag Football is part of a nationwide flag football program organized by the National Football League (NFL). 

• RPAL’s flag football program is part of NFL Flag. Its season stretched from Sept. 17 to Nov. 5. Boys and girls 7 to 14 years of age were eligible to play. Practices were held Monday and Tuesday evening with weekly games every Wednesday beginning at 5 p.m. at Nicholl Park.

• Rising Fire Flag Football in Albany is also part of the NFL Flag Football program and it’s now expanding to nearby areas such as Richmond. The program is for girls and boys ages 4 to 14, and signups are ongoing for the seven-week season that runs from January to March. 

• Plark NFL Flag Football League. Its season starts on Feb. 2 and goes through March 23. Boys and girls ages 4 to 14 years old are eligible.

• Both Kennedy High School and Richmond High School have girls varsity flag football programs. The season for those teams ended in mid-October.

How flag football is played

The basic rules are the same for flag football and tackle football. There’s a quarterback to whom the ball is hiked. The offense gets six points when a player scores in the end zone.

However, there are a number of differences. For starters, the defense doesn’t tackle an opposing player. They halt the play by grabbing a flag that is attached around the player’s waist.

Flag football fields are slightly smaller than tackle football fields.

There are also no running plays, no blocking and no pass rush on the quarterback. Everybody on offense goes out on pass patterns. The quarterback looks for an open receiver while the defense tries to cover everybody.

In flag football, the quarterback has a limited amount of time to throw or the play is called dead. Each side gets four plays on offense to try to score rather than four plays to get a first down.

At a recent clinic that Richmondside attended, about half of the young participants indicated they had played flag football recently.

Before hitting the turf, the group heard motivational speeches from league officials as well as former professional athletes who now help promote the NFL Flag programs.

Todd Spencer, an El Cerrito High School graduate who played football for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers in the 1980s, told the young athletes that sports can help them become better people.

“You have a great opportunity to be somebody and to learn that hard work pays off,” he said.

Mack “Shooty” Babbitt, who played baseball for the Oakland Athletics in 1981, told the kids that youth sports can “build character” and get them started on the right path.

“The decisions you make as a youngster will follow you the rest of your life,” he said.

From there, the youths were divided into groups and sent to “skills stations” to learn basic football techniques from local coaches and youth program organizers.

At one station, kids took turns hiking, throwing and catching the football. At another, boys and girls ran pass patterns and tried to catch balls. At a third station, participants had to try to throw a football through holes cut in a large canvas.

On another part of the field, they were taught how to best grab the flag of an opposing player running toward them.

Parents weigh in on what they like about flag football

A number of parents sat in the bleachers, taking it all in.

One was Juan Vargas, a Richmond parent whose 10-year-old son was participating in the drills. He said his son is more of a baseball player but wanted to give flag football a try. Vargas was all for it.

“It keeps him active,” he said. “Flag football is a safer option (than tackle football).”

Merrill Pierce, a Richmond parent who also had a 10-year-old son on the field, said her son had just finished a tackle football season with the Richmond Steelers and simply wanted to keep playing, figuring flag football was a good option. She also liked the fact that girls play flag football.

Former NFL player Spencer watched the young athletes practice from the sidelines. He said flag football is a good way for kids to initially learn the game of football with less danger injuries.

“You can learn a lot about football before you play tackle football,” he said. 

Similar sentiments were expressed before the final games of the RPAL flag football season at Nicholl Park.

On that evening, the park’s baseball field had been turned into three flag fields and games were being played simultaneously.

Leonard Wadon was watching his 10-year-old son compete. His son plays tackle football but also likes the flag football season.

“He just loves to play the game,” Wadon said.

Daynah Ramos was keeping an eye on her 11-year-old son’s performance on the field. Ramos is a nurse at Making Waves Academy in Richmond, so she sees concussions and other head injuries at her school. That’s why her son plays flag football instead of tackle football.

“I’m a school nurse and I don’t want to see him get any head injuries,” she said.

Ramos also likes flag football because girls get to be part of the action.

“I think they should be able to play if they want to,” she said.

Ramos added that she likes that the games last about an hour and that the season lasts just six weeks.

Jerry Anderson, who oversees the flag football program at RPAL, said there are a lot of reasons kids and parents like flag football.

Part of it is the lack of contact and injuries. Another part is that youths, in particular girls, don’t have to be physically big to play.

“The best skill you can have is the ability to run,” he said.

Most of all, Anderson noted, is the fact that flag football is an enjoyable experience.

“It’s become popular because people see how much fun it can be,” he said.