Michigan girls flag football showcase draws college recruiters at Groves

Dozens of Michigan girls flag football players turned Birmingham Groves High School into a recruiting stop as college coaches watched every rep, every route and every matchup at the Nike Girls Flag Football Showcase and Prospect Camp. The two-day event on June 12-13 gave athletes ages 13 to 17 a chance to work in front of coaches from Davenport, Purdue Northwest, Lewis and Saginaw Valley State, while trying to turn raw interest into something more tangible.

Amber Clark-Robinson ran the showcase, bringing the kind of credential that carries weight in a room full of aspiring recruits. The Saginaw Valley State coach is a two-time gold medalist with the USA Women’s National Flag Football Team and also leads women’s flag football at the University of Saint Mary in Kansas. At Groves, her camp mixed drills, one-on-ones and competitive work, the kind of environment where a player’s first step, hips and ball skills can matter as much as the final score on any scoreboard.

For players like Redford Union defensive back Amaya Tigney, the event was about more than getting through another camp. Tigney entered after a spring season in which she recorded seven interceptions, including three in a 12-0 loss to Detroit Renaissance, and said she wanted exposure, film and a test against elite receivers. One of those matchups came against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s receiver Olivia Willoughby, a rep Tigney said showed her exactly how much she still had to sharpen before the next level.

The showcase landed at a moment when girls flag football in Michigan is moving fast enough to change the recruiting map. The Detroit Lions launched the Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League and staged the first state championship tournament at Ford Field on June 1, 2025, when St. Joseph edged Brighton 21-20. The league returned to Ford Field again on June 6-7, 2026, and has expanded into a multi-division spring season with a postseason championship format. That structure has created more games, more film and more reasons for college programs to keep tabs on the state.

Birmingham Groves senior Ke’lko Buskin was among the players using the camp to turn curiosity into opportunity. She has spent most of her life around football through her older brother and finally got her own chance through flag, a path that mirrors what the sport is becoming for more Michigan athletes. At Groves, the message was clear: the right camp can be a gateway, but only if a player shows enough against real competition to make coaches look twice.