Mailbag - December 2025

PLAY LIKE A GIRL Girls flag football is on the rise across Texas. Pictured (from left) are teammates Claire Denson, Demi Smith, and Cleo Hodges, who played on Spring Branch-Memorial Sports Association's first all-girls flag football team this summer. (Photo: hartphoto.com)

Flag football fun 

Thank you so much for bringing more awareness to girls’ flag football [Pulling Flags and Breaking Barriers: Girls’ flag football takes off in Houston by Annie Blaylock McQueen, Nov. 2025]. Annie did a great job highlighting the positives of the sport! The Meraki girls in the article are on cloud nine to be featured as they have fallen in love with flag football. 

Whether it is with Meraki or any of the other organizations offering girls’ flag football, I encourage anyone interested to get involved in this fast-growing sport as we push to become a UIL sanctioned sport! They don’t need to fully commit, schedules are packed already, but flag football is a great way to increase speed and agility for other sports. More importantly though, it is really fun! 

Jeffrey Klam, owner, Meraki Sports Project

Touchdown 

Thank you so much for writing the article about girls’ flag football. It is a great competitive sport and even better, it’s a lot of fun! My team, Standing on Business, and I really want Texas UIL to sanction girls flag football so we can play for our high school teams! Your article showing so many girls all over the Houston area playing and competing in flag football helps us prove to Texas UIL how popular girls’ flag is now and how it’s a growing sport.

I also really appreciate the very nice things you said about me. I love playing flag football and I want other girls to see that there are teams out there and that they can play flag football too! There is a real future for female athletes in flag football and I hope many girls will be inspired to join me.

Mary Margaret Dybesland

Encouraging girls 

I play on the same flag football team as Mary Margaret, Standing on Business. Thank you for the great article about girls’ flag football. I have played flag football for five years and it gets more competitive every year. I am passionate about the game and grateful for every opportunity it has given me. I look forward to fulfilling my dream of playing in high school, college, and hopefully for the USA National Team.

I am glad to see so many girls playing flag football and I hope more girls will start playing. There are many leagues in the Houston area like Under Armour, NFL Flag, and flag football camps so I would encourage any girl interested in flag football to look up these opportunities. Join us on the field!

Brooklyn Sterling

Helping the next generation soar

It is amazing how many people have personally and favorably commented, to [my wife] Carole and me, about your well written article Born to Fly [by Michelle Casas Groogan, Nov. 2025]. Little did we know, so many years ago, that Carole’s first conversation with Alex at a CAF monthly meeting would lead years later to witnessing his maturation from a demure teenager to a friendship and the mentoring of a now-FAA certified private pilot.

Carole’s initiative could be a lesson for many. Make an effort to reach out to the curious youth of today, knowing an acorn today can be tomorrow’s oak tree.

Edward A. Vesely

Sky high

A huge thank you to Michelle Casas Groogan for the wonderful article Born to Fly featuring my son, Alexandre, and Ed Vesely [Nov. 2025]. Their shared passion for flying has led to a strong and meaningful friendship, and the article beautifully captures how that bond was born and has blossomed. It’s also a reminder of how important mentoring is in the lives of young people.

The article brought me back so many great memories of when Alexandre was younger, and I’m grateful to have it as a lasting reminder of all these special moments. This article will also be something Alexandre can look back on with pride in the future. Bravo!

Michele Tropee

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