Girls flag football has been growing in Illinois, but a recent decision by the Illinois High School Association caught players and parents by surprise.
The IHSA has decided to start the regular summer season for boys tackle football a week earlier to give athletes more time to rest between games. The girls’ team begins the season at the normal time, but the playoffs for both teams start a week earlier, making the girls’ season two weeks shorter than the boys.
Players and coaches say that doesn’t seem fair and questioned the decision.
“Our regular season is already very short, six-week regular season. It’s the shortest in all of Illinois sports, the shortest in all of sports across the high schools of America,” said Carlos Panzio, Maine South High Flag Football Head Coach. “So, to shorten it down to five weeks is really disappointing, really hard pill for our girls to take.”
Coaches like Panzio are concerned that flag football players won’t have enough days between games to rest, which motivated the changes to the boys’ tackle football season.
Alessandra Gerut, a student flag football player at Taft High School, shared her frustration with NBC. “I just don’t understand why they would be shortening something that women are starting to excel at, and it’s just really frustrating for girls like me.”
