Football is in the air all around the country, and for dozens of high schools in Maryland and Virginia, they're in the game this September like never before. Girls flag programs, including those in Richmond County, Henrico County, Fairfax County and Prince George's County, are kicking off their inaugural seasons.
To celebrate this milestone as part of a landmark announcement made during training camp, the Commanders are helping to put on media days for the teams. During these events, student-athletes are gifted brand-new uniforms, participate in professional photoshoots, create 360 cam content and engage in Q&As with Washington Legends.
"It's special for the Commanders to put on these media days, so that every girl that puts on these new uniforms feels celebrated," said Commanders' Director of Youth Football Dan Levy. "Every single one of these girls are trailblazers, the first to play at their schools and their counties and these historic moments deserve celebrations like the media days and all the other events we'll put on for them throughout the year."
As an athlete can attest to, there's nothing like a new uniform to start a season of sports. The reveal of the new fits has come with a swell of emotion for these young women.
"[Their reaction] was even more than I thought it was going to be. It kind of made me faklempt," said Dr. Stephanie Ramsey, director of athletics and activities for Richmond Public Schools. "To hear their screams when they got their uniforms was really something special."
Sporting their new attire, the student-athletes then went through a series of stations to capture content just like an NFL team would. The poses and gameday faces were sharp, and the TikTok dances were on point.
"'Ready' was the theme I got. These girls are ready," said Brian Moore, supervisor of interscholastic athletics for Prince George's County Public Schools.
Stops during the media day included individual photos, 360 camera content and team photos set up by the Commanders with plenty of additional fun elements sprinkled in.
"The other thing that stood out was just how generous the Commanders were with the setup, the decorations, the Legends created a buzz," Moore said. "Major Tuddy was running around interacting with the crowd."
Getting to go through this kind of media -- which has increasingly become a norm across many high school athletics programs -- sends the message that this sport and these student-athletes belong.
"It was nice that they hyped it up and made the girls really feel part of the athletic program," said Bowie High School athletic director Jessica Brandt.
There's a lot to be excited about with the trajectory of girls' flag football. More stakeholders are seeing the possibilities for where the sport can go.
"In two to four years, I don't think you'll recognize this sport with the potential it has to blow up," Moore said. "The buzz is on an all-time high right now."
The Commanders want to do what they can to turn the buzz into sustainable growth. Part of that means helping more schools be able to implement the sport as an option.
"Without them [the Commanders] we probably would not have been able to start it because our budgets are so limited and nowadays people just don't do fundraising like they used to, and the parents are getting gouged every which way," Brandt said. "So, it's so nice that they put up the money for it to start and get it moving and all that."
Pushing the momentum with uniforms, learn-to-play clinics, media days and more helps transform dreams into reality. And that feeds on itself. It creates a path for others to follow.
"I was looking at them, and I was telling them, 'This is the first. You have a chance to establish something for people behind you to come and do," said Washington Legend Brian Mitchell, who participated in a Q&A session last week. "And I remember one of the little girls saying, 'I want to be that person that makes my little sisters want to come out here and do it.'"
