PONTOON BEACH – This winter, local girls can learn how to play flag football.
The free Open Field program will run from Feb. 20 to March 27, 2025, at the Field Sports Complex in Pontoon Beach. Every Thursday from 6–7:30 p.m., girls ages 5–7 and 8–12 can participate in a flag football training program that will teach the basics of the sport, encourage friendships and build athletic ability. Coach Andre Collins noted that he has enjoyed coaching girls flag football, and he hopes more new athletes will come out and learn to love the sport.
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had,” said Collins, who coaches through Champions Sports Academy. “This program will be at no cost at all, and it’s just open field. So girls will come, there will be a little bit of instruction, but then we’ll just play the game. I want them to just have fun playing flag football.”
Collins started teaching flag football in spring 2024, after he learned that IHSA now offers girls flag football as a sanctioned sport. Many colleges also have scholarships for flag football athletes, but Collins noted that there were few opportunities for girls to participate in the sport before the college level.
“Where are they going to draw the girls from?” he asked. “What we’ve discovered is a lot of communities have co-ed football, which the girls are playing, but what the girls are telling me is they don’t get the opportunities though to play quarterback, to play receiver, to actually learn the game. So that’s what our program is there to do, teach the game and give those girls another opportunity to eventually, if they choose, to earn a scholarship to play in college. That’s our ultimate vision for it. Let’s use this sport to pay for college.”
With this goal in mind, Collins and a few parents partnered with Troy Park District, Edwardsville Parks and Recreation Department, Granite City Park District and Belleville Parks and Recreation Department to offer an all-girls league. They currently have an instructional level for 5–7-year-olds and a developmental level for 8–12-year-olds, with the hope to eventually start a competitive division and travel teams.
Collins said that flag football is “the fastest growing sport in the U.S.,” with the Olympics introducing women’s flag football in 2028. Last summer, Collins and Champions Sports Academy held a camp for Belleville East High School students, and Belleville West High School also has a team lined up. He said there are many other high schools in the area that are looking into adding a girls flag football team.
“I told the girls, I said, ‘At this point, you probably don’t even realize what you’re doing. But you girls are trailblazers. You are the very first to play this sport in the Metro East,’” Collins remembered.
The six-week Open Field program aims to bring in more girls and introduce them to the sport. There will be attendance prizes and one coach for every ten players. Collins said they plan to teach the fundamentals so athletes can go on to play at the high school level. They hope to have year-round leagues in the future.
“Our goal is just to surround them with excellent coaches and mentors so they can feel comfortable in this environment,” Collins added. “The girls know, hey, there’s no limits. Whatever you want to do, do it.”
For more information about the Open Field program or the girls flag football league planned for this summer, including how to register, contact Collins at (972) 689-3697 or [email protected] or visit the official Champions Sports Academy website at ChampionSportsAcademy.org.
