Girls Targeted for Flag Football Participation
The last thing Wilma McNabb wants to hear is someone getting negative about why girls and women can't or shouldn't play football. So you can imagine her glee when she learned that the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) are joining forces with the NFL to help promote the sport of flag football to girls.
Don't ever let anybody tell you that you cannot do something," McNabb said in a plea to prospective female football players. "Know what you are capable of and know what you want and never let anyone take that away from you."
McNabb, president of the Professional Football Players Mothers Association and mother of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, has seen firsthand the positive attributes that America's favorite sport offers. Now it's time to get girls and women active in the sport.
"Females can derive the same positive attributes from football that men do, such as teamwork, as well as all the physical benefits," Wilma McNabb said. "Football may not be for everyone, but if someone enjoys it, there should be nothing that stops them from participating. Girls should be encouraged to play and reap the same benefits that boys do from the sport."
The work that the Boys and Girls Clubs of America is doing to reach out to potential girl flag football players will be a boost to the sport.
"I think there are many more girls that would like to participate but are not encouraged to do so. There are girls who might excel at the sport but have very little opportunity to showcase their skills," McNabb said.
Fortunately for prospective girl flag football players, Tiffany Henderson of the Programand Youth Development Services division of the Atlanta-based Boys and Girls Clubs of America shares the same feelings: reach out to girls, get them active and involved, and watch them thrive.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of America are spearheading the charge to turn girls into football players. Through the NFL National Youth Football Partners Grant, Boys and Girls Clubs of America has exercised specific recruiting and marketing strategies to increase the number of girls participating in youth football programs at Clubs nationwide.
BGCA learned through grant reports, focus groups, site visits and training evaluations that specific recruitment strategies and the presence of female volunteers and female athletes greatly affect participation efforts geared toward girls.
Based on this information collection, strategic recruiting and marketing initiatives, BGCA anticipates a 5 percent increase in female participation this football season. Among the strategies that the BGCA acted upon:
- Offered a "Girls/Women in Football" general session at the Play Action: Youth Action BGCA national conference. The buzz ignited by the session will be continued through correspondence sent to approximately 800 Clubs that have expressed interest in youth football to encourage female participation and female volunteerism.
- Created a girls-only NFL Youth Football poster featuring female athletes, female volunteerism and the benefits of participation. The poster was distributed to all 4,300 Boys and Girls Clubs of America to be used as a recruitment and marketing tool.
- Provided special YFF Local Agency Grant consideration for Clubs with a special interest in increasing female participation or conducting female-only football leagues. Special consideration was paid during YFF grant selection to Clubs with programs that specifically emphasized girls.
- Conducted a girls-only youth football photo shoot, which was conducted at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta/NFL YET Center. The photo shoot resulted in quality stock photos exhibiting girls participating in youth football programs for BGCA publications.
- Created a girls-only NFL Youth Football poster that will assist Clubs in driving interest and recruiting more girls to play football.
Add it all up, and Henderson hopes it equals a surge in girls playing football.
"Each thing that we did this past year was funded by the NFL Youth Partner Grant, and for that we're extremely grateful," Henderson said. "In 2005, they asked us to dream big with ideas, so we did. That really gave us the financial support to take youth football to another level, including growing girls' participation and establishing a Latino outreach program, along with a training camp for coaches."
The poster's tag line of "Girls Play Football" leaves no questions unanswered for young females who see the poster on Clubhouse walls.
"We want to start making sure that when we publish youth football messages, we show that girls are playing also," Henderson said. "We're also trying to increase female volunteerism. It's a male-centered sport, so anytime a young girl can see a woman coaching or volunteering on a football team, that crosses the gender stereotypes and will be tremendously helpful in getting girls involved. Once we take out the negative stereotypes, we'll have huge growth potential."
The NFL is supporting a move in 10 cities to get girls to propose that flag football be played at the high school level in those markets. Likewise, Henderson said the BGCA in those cities will use the clubs as way to raise awareness about the football opportunities.
"Before the girls get to high school, if they have the foundation built at the Club level, we'll see even more participation," Henderson said.
Henderson has been associated with youth football long enough to know that girls and women have an affinity for the sport. A Harris Poll showed that NFL football is the favorite sport of women at 30 percent.
"The girls like the jazz and glitz associated with football," Henderson said. "And youth football as a physical activity, when you consider the obesity rate among kids in our country, is an avenue to make a difference."
Henderson has watched football to be the sport of choice for current female players for a variety of reasons.
"One of the major things is because it looks like fun," she said. "It doesn't seem threatening to them. Some girls may not want to participate in dance, or cheerleading or basketball, and it's an opportunity to play something different. It's not something that's beaten down their throat that they should do, which is the case with other sports. It has a newness that a lot of girls like. And there's the thought of: ‘Anything a guy can do, I can do better.' They see the fun the boys are having, and they want to see if they can develop the same skills.
"It's also a great introduction to sports. If you allow them to get the sport-y feel of it, they might decide they like it and want to grow up to be a sportscaster or official."
On the other hand, Henderson has become familiar with the factors that keep girls away from playing football.
"The main thing is they don't have the access to it. It's not available. There's not a girls-only league or even a co-ed league for them to play in," Henderson said. "The presence of female volunteers is key. A young person may be willing to try it if she sees older females involved. There's a comfort level with that. Girls don't see girls in football enough, and they don't see women in sports enough. We need to get the message out. Playing football is not in their minds as readily as it could be."
When representatives from the NFL spoke in support of girls/women football earlier this year at the annual meeting, Henderson said it made a huge impact on the meeting attendees who were interested in offering girls flag football at their Clubhouses.
"The NFL is full force behind it, and it made a difference in the minds of those people," she said. "I think we were 100 percent successful at the meeting in opening the eyes of those in attendance."
There are already signs that the outreach by at least one women's tackle football team is helping. The New York Sharks became the first women's tackle football team to offer the NFL's Junior Player Development Clinic. The third annual event is set for February at Giants Stadium. More than 100 girls ages 13 to 17 participated the first two years, and Andra Douglas expects to surpass 200 in 2009. She's working to get more JPD clinics held by women's teams in other markets.
"Women love football," said Douglas, a real estate agent and creative director who owns the Sharks. "Unfortunately, there was never an avenue for us to play. We were never allowed to play as kids, and there were never any teams in high school or college. I didn't start playing until I was 40. I loved it and had a passion for it.
"It's such a wonderful sport and offers so much camaraderie and growth. Football is the best. It's such a great sport. The more avenues that are open, the more women will participate. What we're trying to do is open the doors."
If the interest level continues to build, folks like McNabb, Henderson and Douglas will find even more reason every week to watch their favorite sport: their daughters and granddaughters have a game on Saturday.
Story courtesy of www.usafootball.com
