GILBERT, AZ — At Highland High School in Gilbert, more girls are finding a place on the football field.
Head coach Kenny Golladay says 52 players make up three girls flag football teams at Highland, something he didn't expect to see happen so quickly.
"I definitely wasn't expecting it to grow this fast," Golladay said. "To see it boom just within the last couple of years is much faster, I think, than what anyone else would expect it to grow."
For Highland quarterback Lacie Nemchick, the opportunities look much different than when she started playing football around age 10.
"I started playing with all boys on a rec team and eventually got to a girls' club, and now I'm playing high school," Nemchick said.
What's happening at Highland is part of a much larger trend across Arizona.
According to the Arizona Interscholastic Association, participation in girls flag football grew from about 1,500 athletes in the 2023-24 season to nearly 4,000 last season. The AIA says 160 programs have committed to participate this season.
For the girls at Highland, that growth is creating opportunities they didn't have when some of them first picked up a football.
"When it became a high school sport, I was like, I really could do this long term," Nemchick said. "And now it's in colleges and the Olympics, so that's the next goal."
As the sport continues to grow, Highland's players know younger girls are watching.
"I feel like it's so good for all the women who want to play sports and all the little girls who can look up to just playing a sport and getting recognized for it," Highland junior Ella Mutters said.
