Girls flag football has been taking over high schools as the fastest growing sport in Illinois since the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) sanctioned it about a year ago. Now, over 150 teams are registered throughout the state. When Muchin College Prep was given the opportunity to join in on the fun, Muchin Athletic Director Trinica Wells said “it was a no-brainer” that they would want to be one of the first teams sanctioned by IHSA. Wells now coaches the team, alongside Culture Specialist Nick Davis.

For years, Muchin’s female scholars have been advocating to start a girls flag football team at Muchin, but given that it wasn’t established in IHSA at the time, it wasn’t considered a “real sport.” Some Muchin students were particularly interested in flag football because they had played before and loved the sport, but didn’t want to engage in a sport quite as physical as rugby, which was the closest sport available to them.

“Flag football is my favorite sport. I got into it during 8th grade because I wanted to try something new, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since.” Sophomore Laila Townsend said.

When Laila started at Muchin her freshman year and realized we didn’t have a team, she decided to do what she could to get one started.

“It’s the only sport I’ve ever played, and I see myself doing it as long as I can.” She said.

Teammate and friend, Ka’mya Lee, chimed in, “I’ve been playing since middle school, too, and it’s become my favorite sport.” Thus far, she says it’s “so much fun playing and laughing together” with Laila.

For years, families and scholars within Noble Schools and Chicago Public Schools, with support from the Chicago Bears, advocated to IHSA to sanction this sport. The Bears played a pivotal role in promoting girls flag football, with their president & CEO Kevin Warren, consistently emphasizing the importance of providing opportunities for talented female athletes. In October of 2024, IHSA members voted 464-82 to officially sanction girls flag football as a sport to increase overall student participation in sports.

IHSA’s goals aligned with Wells’—not only to get more students into sports—but to create more community with parents and Muchin fans. The parents of the girls on the team have become one of Muchin’s strongest and most consistent supporters across all sports at the school.

“They show up to early morning games on Saturday and stay through not only their girls’ game, but also the tackle football games as well. They’ve been a true joy for our student-athletes and a key driver of more involvement by students and parents across our athletics program.” Evie Beckerleg, dean of students at Muchin, said.

While the season is now over, there is no doubt that girls flag football at Muchin will continue in the years to come.

“We lost a lot, but we still had a lot of fun,” Player Jauccaria Solomon said while smiling, “I’m an athlete all around and enjoy playing a lot of sports, but this team was the first time I felt empowered to step up as a leader and inspire my teammates not to give up.”