On Saturday, June 8, Indianapolis Colt's linebacker Zaire Franklin held inaugural Girls Flag Football Jamboree at his alma mater, La Salle College High School - PSD Photo by Michael Szczepkowski
Photos: Michael Szczepkowski
By: Jeremy Goode
WYNDMOORE, PA--Indianapolis Colt and 2024 NFL tackle leader Zaire Franklin traded in his football pads for flags for a day.
On Sat., June 8, Franklin, the seven-year NFL veteran and recent Pro Bowler returned to his alma mater, La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor, PA to host the first “Shelice’s Angels Girls’ Flag Football Jamboree, Hosted by Zaire Franklin.”
Roughly 75 girls participated in drills, contests, games, and discussion with several mentors who help enhance women’s sports and empowerment.
The Colts report for minicamp later this week, but Franklin always spends some time back home in the offseason. This year, he found an opportunity to grow girls’ flag football, in a place that helped shape him into the person and football player he is today.
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“When you have an opportunity to be around the kids, to teach them the game, and instill power into their life, nothing means more,” Franklin said. “Anything I can do to try to give them an arm up and lift as I continue to climb means the most.”
In February, Franklin was appointed to serve as an NFL Global Flag Football Ambassador. Shelice’s Angels, Franklin’s foundation, was created to provide resources and opportunities to girls, while building them up and empowering them. The foundation has sent girls to observe offices at Google, the Sixers headquarters, and Meta in New York City.
The Jamboree included several guests, including Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Devonta Smith, U.S. women’s national flag football team members Isabella Geraci and Amber Clark-Robinson, as well as Army Ranger Hailey Gibbons.
Franklin brought in a strong batch of coaches, including local football coaches from the area and high school and college players.
Depending on their position, participants went through specific drills to hone in on their position. Wide receivers ran a pattern of different routes, quarterbacks did footwork drills around cones, and defensive backs worked on their coverage while getting opportunities to intercept passes by coaches.
“Anytime I can do anything around the community is always good,” said Smith, who trains with Franklin in the offseason. “Especially for these young ladies to give them an opportunity to get their talent out there.”
While skies were grey, the weather held up, and there were only a few moments of raindrops during the four-hour affair.
All athletes were given “Zaire Franklin’s Girls Flag Jamboree Shirts,” with various colors that served as jerseys and provided a way to tell the several teams apart.
Geraci, an IFAF Flag Football World Champion, provided an example for the younger girls, having started the sport at a young age, taken a break, and then returned to it later on in life. She played collegiate basketball at Cleveland State and the University of South Carolina Upstate, and after college she saw how girl’s flag had grown. She returned to the game she had played when she was seven by earning a spot on the U.S. National Women’s Flag Football Traveling Team.
According to the National Federation of State High School (NFHS), 500,000 girls between the ages of six and 17 played flag football, a 63 percent increase from just four years earlier in 2019.
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More high schools and universities are offering girls’ flag, and one of the biggest accomplishments for the sport was when it was named an Olympic sport for both men and women for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
For Geraci, she is excited to see how popular flag football has become for girls in the United States, and she is looking forward to the sport continuing to expand, especially at the high school level.
“I think the thing is now to just get it sanctioned across the United States as a high school varsity sport,” Geraci said. “To have it in high school as a high school sport will really legitimize it, and that will let girls look forward to the Olympics in 2028.”
Franklin’s event aligns well with the new sports trends. Viewership and attendance for the WNBA has shot up exponentially since 2021, according to Vox. Forbes also found that women’s soccer and collegiate sports like volleyball, basketball, and softball have all increased in popularity.
This is not a coincidence, according to Gibbons, who has enjoyed seeing women triumph more in various fields since graduating from West Point in 2014.
“We’re earning our seat at the table. We do deserve it, but we are finally able to make space for women, not just in sports but in business and life in general,” Gibbons said. “The talent has always been there; it’s now just getting recognized.”
Franklin cheered the girls on from the sideline the entire way, giving encouragement and congratulating all the players, especially after big plays. He even participated with the players in touchdown dance celebrations.
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It was consistent with Franklin’s messaging all day. Besides wanting to empower and help girls grow, in his introduction speech for the event he stressed how it was all about having fun.
While Franklin was adamant about establishing a fun environment, he was also very impressed by the intense competition and level of talent that the girls brought to his alma mater.
“They competed, they had fun; I had fun; and I think the girls got better,” Franklin said. “Watching so many girls who have never played football before, by the end of the day just be confident, having fun, making plays, that’s inspiring. I’m inspired.”
