San Antonio flag football programme grows eightfold as scholarships follow

Pic courtesy: X/NFL Flag San DiegoGirls in San Antonio are proving that football isn't just for boys. Flag football is giving them an opportunity to play, compete, earn scholarships, and possibly build a future in the sport! When the Alamo City Lady Roadrunners flag football organisation started last year, there were only five girls participating, according to a report by KENS 5. Today, the programme has grown into four teams and has 40 players aged 8 to 18. With the sport set to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, flag football is opening new doors for these sportswomen!Making a dream possibleTwelve months ago, Eloy Cabello stood in front of five girls and asked if they wanted to play a sport most of them had only watched from the bleachers. Fast-forward to today, they have 40 top-notch players, and their hobby has become a pipeline to college. Thanks to them, women's football finally found breathing room in San Antonio!For Amina Sanchez, one of the players, this programme is everything. She is living her dream. Her love for football started when her dad threw a football. In their house’s front yard, he taught her the mechanics between casual tosses and conversation. "My dad and I were always like, just going out in the front yard. Most of the time I would want to say, like, can I get the football and throw?" Sanchez told the outlet.She loved football all her life, but when she got older, the natural next step felt complicated. Boys had leagues, but girls had sidelines. When Sanchez heard about flag football through school, she asked her father if she could join, and he said yes. Now she is one of the 40 girls for the Lady Roadrunners.Many other girls shared Sanchez’s dream. For instance, Sinai Romero nurtured her dream of becoming a football player ever since she could remember. “I love football. Like, I'm a big football nerd. And I know it's hard for women to get in, like, tackle league, so I wanted to do something that's close to that,” she told the outlet.Charlotte Cabello discovered the sport while scrolling through TikTok and wanted to give it a try. "I just saw this girl. I just thought she looked really cool in what she was doing, and I just wanted to try it out."By the time the Lady Roadrunners formally organised, five had become a starting line-up.5 became 40Eloy Cabello, the founder and coach of the programme, recalled how more girls joined over time, helping it grow into what it is today. “It's grown in the sense of young ladies wanting to do something that most people don't see them doing. And so it's driven them to prove people wrong, prove to themselves that they're capable of playing in this sport,” Cabello told the outlet. The growth comes as more opportunities open up for the sport. Flag football is set to make its debut in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and that will change everything about how people perceive the sport.For one of the players, this opportunity has already opened a new door. Jazzy Whaley, who initially planned to pursue a career in real estate, is now trying to stick with flag football after getting the opportunity to play football at a higher level. “I was really just going to do real estate, but now that I got the opportunity to play football at a higher level, I want to take the opportunity," she said.The coach revealed that Whaley is one of the first female athletes in San Antonio to earn a college scholarship to play flag football. Next autumn, she will be attending East Texas Baptist University.That’s not all. Karalina Moreno, another player, has received four scholarship offers from universities across the country, including the University of Chicago and Kingsville A&M.The real challengeThough the programme is growing, there is not enough competition locally, according to coach Cabello. "It's a struggle every single day to try to find competition for my girls to play against." Due to this challenge, the Lady Roadrunners travel to tournaments in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and even Alabama to compete against other teams. More competition and exposure will certainly help in growing the sport in San Antonio, Cabello said."The more and more that the sport grows, I'm telling you, you'll see it. You're going to see it in high schools pretty soon, and it's going to grow,” he said.The current players are also thinking about the future of the sport. Charlotte hopes that young girls will see the older athletes' success and find an interest in the sport themselves. Sinai, on the other hand, thinks the growth of flag football is the beginning of something big. "I think it's a big opening, like a big opportunity for young girls to chase their dreams, especially in football. So I think this is just like a start."Meanwhile, the Alamo City Lady Roadrunners have set up a hamburger plate sale on Saturday, September 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 6035 NW Loop 410 in San Antonio. The money will go towards the team to buy equipment and pay for tournament travel.