The California Interscholastic Federation voted 146-0 in favor of sanctioning Girls Flag Football as an official school sport as of fall of 2023. To pave the way for an official Girls Flag Football team at MVHS, Athletic Director Nick Bonacorsi plans to start the sport as a club. He first gauged interest in the sport by sending out a Google form on Aug. 25. 

“What SCVAL (Santa Clara Valley Athletic League) decided for this year was not to offer it as an official sport, but instead give schools one year to figure it out as a club,” Bonacorsi said. “So what we’re promoting is this idea of, ‘Could we start up a club, get some games, get a coach in place?’ [We’re] looking forward to next year having more of an official season.”

To prepare for an official flag football season, MVHS is partnering with an outside club, Next Level Flag. Bonacorsi hopes that the MVHS athletes participating in Next Level Flag are aware that a school team is being created. 

“They ran a camp this summer and I know some female athletes who [participated] in the camp,” Bonacorsi said. “Flag Football in and of itself is growing in our area, [but] I don’t know how much it’s growing here at Monta Vista yet, so that’s what we’re trying to figure out.” 

Despite Bonacorsi’s uncertainty about the interest in Girls Flag Football at MVHS, junior Clara Fan hopes to clear up this uncertainty by creating a team through the connections she has made in the past. 

“I thought it would be cool to join the school team because a lot of my friends from the girls soccer, softball [and] basketball team [wanted to do it],” Fan said. “So we thought it would be cool if we all tried a new sport that we all were interested in, and we could just try it out together.”

Although Fan has a solution in mind, another step in the process is acquiring funds. Bonacorsi hopes to receive parts of the budget for the program from separate sources outside of the school because this year’s funding has already been allocated for existing sports. 

“There was a rumor that the 49ers were gonna get involved and provide some startup money for schools,” Bonacorsi said. “That didn’t happen, at least not yet. They’re still promising that there could be some support. Nike has offered some support. I don’t think that has happened yet. It’s all so brand new that we don’t have any real detail on how those things can come about.” 

In the meantime, Fan is spreading awareness about the sport among the Student Athletic Senate to enlist support from athletes who are not already involved in a fall sport.

“Student Athletics can definitely just promote it more so more girls are aware that this has been happening,” Fan said. “If we start having practices or meetups, then it might incline people to see it and want to try it for at least for a day.” 

Both Fan and senior Ruhi Kotwal agree that Flag Football will be a more popular alternative than joining the football team. Kotwal, being a manager on the boys tackle football team, has seen how gruesome the sport is up close and personal. Since Kotwal plays soccer regularly, she is familiar with the consequences of playing a contact sport. However, she is still wary about joining tackle football.

“I’ve kind of seen it up close and I get stressed out when I see players getting tackled. Personally, it’s too dangerous to play. So I’m fine with [just] watching. I would never personally get involved in tackle football. ”

In order to start the sport from the ground up, Bonacorsi explains that there are many steps to take, such as finding members and funding. However, Bonacorsi says he and the MVHS athletes are working hard to ensure that Girls Flag Football can flourish in the MVHS community. 

“We need to purchase footballs, flags, cones, and all the equipment necessary for the sport in and of itself,” Bonacorsi said. “Whereas currently, there is no budget because the sport didn’t exist prior to this year. So step one, [we need to make sure] athletes want to do it. Then it’s working with them together as a group to try and figure out all the remaining pieces.”

“I’ve kind of seen it up close and I get stressed out when I see players getting tackled. Personally, it’s too dangerous to play. So I’m fine with [just] watching. I would never personally get involved in tackle football. ”

In order to start the sport from the ground up, Bonacorsi explains that there are many steps to take, such as finding members and funding. However, Bonacorsi says he and the MVHS athletes are working hard to ensure that Girls Flag Football can flourish in the MVHS community.

“Whereas currently, there is no budget because the sport didn’t exist prior to this year. So step one, [we need to make sure] athletes want to do it. Then it’s working with them together as a group to try and figure out all the remaining pieces.”