Diana Flores, quarterback for Mexico’s national women’s flag football team and two-time World Games gold medalist, addressed nearly 60 high school athletes at the Atlanta Falcons’ facility during the GACA All-Star girls flag football games. The event concluded a week dedicated to celebrating the growth of girls flag football in Georgia.
Flores recounted her early experiences playing in Mexico City, where she and her teammates had to clean dirt-covered fields before practice while boys played on grass. “It’s the journey that shapes you,” Flores said. “It’s the journey that really sticks with you.” She reflected on how little recognition the sport received when she started: “Nobody talked about the sport. Nobody knew what it was. Nobody believed in the game. And now, thanks to organizations like (the Falcons), people who believed in maybe what even we couldn’t see or imagine years ago, it’s now a reality. It’s going beyond what we could have ever dreamed.”
The Atlanta Falcons, based in Atlanta, Georgia and competing in the NFL’s NFC South division according to their official website, have contributed significantly to this expansion through grants, showcases, and clinics. Since 2017, Georgia has grown from having no girls flag teams to over 300 high schools participating statewide, providing opportunities for more than 11,000 girls.
Other NFL teams and league-wide efforts followed suit. By 2025, around 40 NCAA schools offered women’s flag football programs; that number is expected to reach 60 soon as anticipation builds for flag football’s debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Flores emphasized that such progress results from sustained grassroots efforts: “It wouldn’t have happened at all if it wasn’t for programs like this existing,” she told attendees. She highlighted how collective initiatives provided evidence needed for Olympic inclusion: “By the time we started talking about (flag football being in the Olympics), the numbers were there, the intention was there, the exposition was there. We had all of this data, all of these initiatives to back the movement up to make the people of the IOC know that yes, this game has a future.”
She encouraged players by saying: “Girls…the opportunity you have right now not only to inspire, not only to live your passion but to lead future generations and re-shape what it means to be a girl in flag…it’s huge.” Flores added: “… I guarantee you that every decision you make…is creating an impact in girls you don’t even know yet…Everything we do creates this path that goes beyond just us.”
At Saturday’s event presented by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, four teams competed under coaches from across Georgia high schools:
– Red Team coached by Catherine Lambert (Locust Grove) and Arren Swift (Whitewater)
– White Team coached by Jared Hughes (Rome) and Chris Grier (Columbus)
– Silver Team coached by Brandon Marsh (Riverdale) and David Flanders (Warner Robins)
– Black Team coached by Sean Gilbert (Buford) and Nick Grassi (Calvary Day)
In awards announced after play:
– Third Place Game Player of the Game: QB Page Stewart from Calvary Day representing Red Team
– Championship Game Player of the Game: QB Catherine Cooper from North Oconee representing Silver Team
The Atlanta Falcons began as an expansion team in 1965 and advanced twice to Super Bowls—in 1998 and again in 2016—according to their official website.
