Henry County’s female high school athletes have a new outlet for displaying their skills and competitiveness.

  All ten public high schools have fielded girls’ flag football teams this fall and the inaugural season is heading into its homestretch now. Teams have played only within the county this year as a club sport, funded entirely by a grant from the Arthur Blank Foundation.

  “Any cost that could be associated with it is covered within the grant,” said Dr. Curt Miller, coordinator of athletics for the district. “Uniforms, balls, cones, transportation to and from games, coaching supplements, trainers – everything.”

  The idea came to fruition for Henry County athletic directors last March when they convened for their monthly meeting, this time at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. They heard from Atlanta Falcons representatives about how they could make it happen, and all of them were quickly on board with the notion. Miller then presented the plan to top administrators in the district and all were in favor of it.

  The program was announced to students the first week of school, practices began quickly and the season opened September 9, with all teams participating in a jamboree at Warren Holder Park in Locust Grove. The regular season started a week later.

  Flag football is played with seven players on the field for each team at one time, and the field measures about 40 yards by 80 yards. Games consists of two 20-minute halves.

  The response from female students was extremely positive from the first day, according to Miller.

  “Every team got jerseys with numbers from 1 to 25, and I am almost certain that every team has 20 players or close to it,” he said.

  An end-of-season tournament is being planned for the end of October, but the time and place have not yet been finalized.

  Miller thinks it is likely that the Georgia High School Association will sanction girls’ flag football for the fall of 2020. Any official announcement about that would have to come by January, so that schools can make the proper plans and budget accordingly. It has been an official high school sport in Florida for a number of years, playing a spring schedule, and is quite popular.

  For now, just watching the girls participate this fall in an activity that is fairly new to most of them has been a positive experience.

  “They are so competitive,” said Miller. “To see the talents of the girls who have an opportunity to come out in the fall and play a sport they usually don’t play – it’s fun to watch.”