Nearly 20-years ago Florida became the first state to recognize girls flag football as a varsity sport. In its first season – Millard United didn’t know how many young athletes would be interested in a sport typically reserved for boys.
The girls have had a blast. No stereotypes or anything like that,” said Coach Matt Culter. “We weren’t quite sure what the response would be.”
Cutler is coach of the Vikings – a girl’s flag football team. His daughter Reece, a fifth grader, is on the team.
“It was an opportunity for me to coach her,” he said. “My wife does a great job as the defensive coordinator.”
“They were so eager to come out to practice and learn the sport. We started with the basics and now they probably know more than I do,” laughed defensive coach Morgan Cutler.
There is no tackling; instead, a defender pulls a flag from your belt to show you’re down. The girls even designed some of their own plays.
“So this is our Vikings playbook. These are the plays the girls made. This stands for center. This stands for receiver. This is our quarterback,” said 8-year-old Kheringten Snider.
Right now, the Millard players know their competition well. There’s just three teams.
“We’re looking to grow this city-wide. We’re reaching out to Elkhorn and Gretna and Omaha YMCA’s to get it city wide so we can get this all girl’s flag football off the ground,” said Matt.
“It’s awesome to see the girls learn the sport and love the sport,” said Morgan.
The girls’ season will wrap up shortly. If your girls are interested in joining what Millard United is doing – call 402-894-1331 and ask for Lisa Larson with Millard United.