Georgia girls flag football rise drives media training push

Dawn Montgomery spent time with FlagTherrell players ahead of Media Day, drilling them on how to answer questions and handle cameras as girls flag football in Georgia kept moving from novelty toward a pipeline. Players are also preparing for the visibility that comes with college attention, bigger stages and a fast-rising profile.

Georgia sanctioned girls flag football in 2020. More than 300 Georgia high schools played last season, and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation backed that expansion with grant funding for 305 schools in 2025, including 45 that launched new girls flag football programs. In January 2026, the foundation made every Georgia high school eligible for a grant to start or support a program this year.

The GHSA has turned that growth into a formal championship structure, with five divisions and eight areas in each division. Schools must declare their intent to participate by March 1 each year. Twenty-seven Georgia high schools are also adding the sport for the 2026 season.

Nearly 200 players took part in the Atlanta Falcons’ fifth annual Girls Flag Football Showcase at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in August 2025, working through NFL scouting-combine-style drills in front of college coaches.

Marietta High School senior Cate Gruehn captured that shift in plain language when she said people often react, "What? I didn't even know that was a thing," when she tells them she is going to college to play flag football. With women’s flag football set for its 2028 Olympic debut, that reaction is becoming less common, but the spotlight is only getting sharper.

Programs are teaching girls how to run routes and pull flags, talk to reporters and stand in front of a camera.