Savannah coach to host free girls flag football camp, 200 expected

Rob DeLoach will host a free girls flag football camp for ages 8 to 18 on July 18 at Memorial Stadium in Savannah, with 200 young players expected and the first 100 registrants set to attend at no cost. That is the kind of turnout that does more than fill a summer calendar. It would point to real unmet demand in the Savannah area, especially for girls who want an on-ramp into a sport that still needs more entry points at the beginner level.

DeLoach says he got back into flag football after coaches started calling and asking whether Savannah had girls who could eventually earn scholarship looks, a sign that the sport has moved past novelty and into the recruiting conversation. He also calls flag football “the fastest-growing sport in the world,” and that claim fits the way the local game has been expanding around him. A one-day camp with a free first wave of entries gives families a low-risk way to try the sport without joining a club or committing to a full season.

Savannah has already been building that lane. In April, the City of Savannah Recreation and Leisure Services held its first girls flag football skills clinic on April 5, with instruction from city staff and former Atlanta Falcons players Robert Moore, Bobby Butler and Buddy Curry. The city has framed the sport as a non-contact version of football that emphasizes athleticism, teamwork, agility and leadership, exactly the mix that makes it accessible for beginners and appealing to players who want a faster, more open version of the game.

The timing also matters beyond Savannah. Girls flag football became a sanctioned high school sport in Georgia in 2020, and participation has climbed every year since, giving camps like DeLoach’s a direct path into school competition. The sport now has an even bigger stage ahead: flag football is on the LA28 Olympic program, and the NFL has approved player eligibility for the event in Los Angeles in 2028.

A useful local benchmark comes from across the water in Hilton Head, where a 2023 camp drew more than 200 kids and used more than 20 NFL and Division I players as coaches. DeLoach is aiming at that same scale, and if Savannah answers with 200 girls in July, it will show the region is not just watching the sport grow. It is asking for more places to play it.