The Washington Commanders welcomed a group of special guests to training camp who are part of a movement rapidly gaining momentum and changing lives in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

"This is something that I could not be more excited about that the team is going to be part of," Commanders team president Mark Clouse said to the group. "There will be girls coming out of this area who are going to go to college on scholarship playing flag football. It's gonna happen, but we've got some work to do from where we are today."

The Commanders have dived into the work of growing girls flag, partnering with local schools to host clinics, distribute equipment, celebrate championships and more. The franchise recently announced its largest investment to date in the sport: a two-year commitment to 127 girls flag programs in the DMV which will amount to more than $1 million.

So many public school districts, from those in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia to east of D.C., have already seen interest in girls flag grow in a way that's raised eyebrows. Take Richmond, Virginia, as an example: during an exploratory five-game season in Richmond Public Schools, 60% of the 113 girls who participated had never played a sport before.

"One of the things our girls said when they were playing in the spring was 'I feel seen' and that's so important," said Dr. Stephanie Ramsey, Coordinator of K-12 Activities & Athletics with Richmond Public Schools. "I'm doing a huge data analysis for all of my schools …The disparity between girls and boys sports is going to show -- obviously football always has more numbers -- but actually by adding flag football it levels the playing field in a lot of our buildings, which is pretty powerful."

The same shifts could be seen percolating more up north in surveys administered by Prince William County.

"One of the things that we really pay attention to is Title IX and wanting to expand opportunities for our girls to participate in sports," said Martin Grimm, Director of Student Activities Management for Prince William County. "So, this just was frankly a no-brainer. We have the interest, and we want to expand our opportunities for our female athletes."

In Prince George's County, the Commanders linked arms with the public school district to host three clinics for girls from its 26 schools earlier in the year. Shirley Diggs, Coordinating Supervisor of Interscholastic Athletics for PGCPS, said she "didn't know what to expect" at the outset, but the energy present at the events was undeniable.

"They came out there ready to go," Diggs said. "They were out there really working hard and learning … It truly woke us up."

Identifying that girls want to play flag is one thing; making it a sport these student-athletes can represent their school in is another. That's where the investment the Commanders are making can be so transformative.

"We're an inner-city public school system so money is not always available. It's usually because of the kindness of some of my partners that we're able to get some of these things started," Ramsey said.

Money from the commitment announced today will go towards the many elements a season of school sports requires.

"We don't want to put the burden on the schools for transportation, officials, coaching supplements," Grimm said. "So as a division we have to identify all of those expenses that people don't think about … The division is still going to contribute some, but it really makes it feasible and especially with it being two years. It's really going to allow us to do what we need."

Prince William County, Prince George County and several others in the DMV will have their very first seasons of girls flag starting next month. And while the sport might be new, that doesn't mean the approach changes as administrators noted a desire to compete for championships in the near future. What's guaranteed though is that football has the potential to impart countless lessons and skills that can be carried through life as Commanders head coach Dan Quinn underscored to the group at training camp.

"Over 120 new teams playing football, that makes Adam and I super happy," Quinn said. "I know you're going to grow the game, and it's gonna be awesome. We're so pumped for you guys. And we want to make sure, have an absolute blast. This game has meant everything to me and taught me so much, so enjoy it and have fun."