Kaileigh Patterson has played flag football since she was four years old. The sport has taken her to state, national and international competition. She says it has also given her confidence and opportunities to lead.

Now Patterson wants girls throughout Massachusetts to have that chance at their own high schools. She is part of a growing movement supported by the New England Patriots Foundation, which launched a girls high school flag football program four seasons ago. But before girls flag football can be considered for statewide recognition, supporters must clear a hurdle away from the field: securing enough school support to submit an application by October 1.

“Flag football has changed my life in so many different ways,” Patterson said. “I want girls across all of Massachusetts to have the same opportunity to play in high school and pursue their dreams of playing in college.”

From Eight Teams to Nearly 90

All Girls Flag co-founders Kayla Balamotis and Alicia Bernardo have spent nearly two years working toward recognition for girls’ flag football by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA).

The New England Patriots Foundation launched the high school program four seasons ago, according to the co-founders. Bernardo said it grew from eight teams in 2023 to 23 the following season, then 51 and approximately 90 this past season. That latest figure counts teams, she stressed, rather than necessarily 90 individual schools.

Balamotis knows the sport from both sides of the sideline. She has played flag football for about a decade, runs a women’s league in Lowell and has coached high school players for three years. She said the players on her team were new to flag football when they joined.

Some are now approaching their senior season. Balamotis said they had hoped to finish high school playing a sport recognized by the MIAA and establishing records for their school.

For Bernardo, the effort is personal, too. Her two daughters, ages 11 and 13, play flag football. She wants them and their teammates to have the opportunity to play at school when they reach the high school level.

Why 58 Letters Matter

All Girls Flag needs 58 letters signed by principals to submit its application by October 1, Bernardo said. At the time of the co-founders’ interview with High School on SI, they had 31—leaving 27 still to secure.

Under the MIAA’s process for adding an emerging sport, support letters must come from member schools that currently sponsor the sport or intend to do so. The application must be initiated by a member school leader. Submitting it gives the proposal a chance to be reviewed by the MIAA Board of Directors; it does not guarantee approval.

“It really just opens the discussion,” Balamotis said. “It doesn’t mean that it’s going to become a sanctioned sport.”

If the group cannot gather the letters in time, Bernardo said, it will have to wait until next year to apply again. All Girls Flag can provide eligible schools with a sample letter at .

A New Choice — Or a New Athlete?

The co-founders said some schools have raised concerns about field space and the effect a new varsity team could have on existing spring sports. Balamotis said club players at some schools currently participate in both flag football and a varsity sport such as softball or lacrosse. When schedules conflict, the varsity commitment comes first. Giving flag football the same status could require some athletes to choose.

Dr. Jen Welter, the NFL’s first female coach and Founder of Grrridiron Girls, says that view misses girls who have never found a place in school sports.

“Girls flag football isn’t simply giving existing female athletes another sport to play. It is expanding the female athlete population itself,” Welter said. “We’re not just adding another sport for girls. We’re adding girls to sports.”

Welter pointed to an in which an Indiana athletic director described a girls flag football team made up largely of students who had never played a sport before. Balamotis sees that possibility on her own team, where players tried flag football for the first time in high school.

Schools have also asked the co-founders about a boys program. Balamotis said they would support one if demand develops. For now, she said, their focus is the interest they are seeing from girls.

An Opportunity Still Waiting for Its Hearing

Bernardo believes MIAA recognition would give players greater visibility as they look toward college opportunities. Patterson, who has already competed well beyond her home state, wants other girls to see a path from their high school teams to the next level.

That possibility remains several steps away. The immediate decision belongs to eligible Massachusetts schools: whether to sign a letter so girls flag football can make its case to the MIAA this year. Twenty-seven more letters would get All Girls Flag to its stated goal of 58. For Patterson and the girls who hope to follow her, reaching that number would mean their sport gets its chance to be heard in Massachusetts.