Pulling Flags and Breaking Barriers

In Buzz neighborhoods and beyond, girls who once filled weekends with soccer, basketball, or softball are picking up flags and running plays. They are now competing in a sport that historically has been set aside for boys: flag football.

“Flag football proves girls can do anything, and I love getting out there and proving it,” said player and Nottingham Elementary student Demi Smith, 10.

The girls’ flag football movement surged in 2023 when the Houston Texans Foundation, in partnership with NFL FLAG and Houston Methodist, launched Texas’ first high school girls’ flag football league. What began as a bold initiative quickly gained momentum, thanks in large part to the passion and support of Cal and Hannah McNair, owners of the Houston Texans.

Hannah McNair, vice president of the Texans Foundation, whose support of the She’s Next movement has empowered young female athletes across Texas. (Photo: Houston Texans)

“We believe in opening doors for girls and giving them a platform to compete, grow, and lead,” said Hannah McNair, vice president of the Texans Foundation. “Getting girls’ flag football sanctioned in Texas is something we’re incredibly passionate about. It’s about more than just sport; it’s about empowerment.”

That vision aligns with the Texans’ She’s Next movement, which champions the development of young female athletes across Texas. Backed by families in Buzz communities and beyond, the initiative is not just expanding the sport locally, it is setting the stage for national growth and recognition. 

Jeffrey Klam, who owns Meraki Sports, coached the first girls’ flag team in Spring Branch–Memorial Sports Association this summer. His team, which now practices at his clinic, is just one of many breaking out on the scene of this rapidly rising sport.

Jeffrey’s players are paving their own way. His players, including Marin Rohling, Cleo Hodges, Demi Smith, and Claire Denson, among others, advanced to the Texans regional tournament and finished in second place.

Demi Smith

“Girls’ flag football has been exploding,” Jeffrey says. No other girl teams to play this summer? No problem. “We just played the boy teams,” he said.

“Playing flag football has been my dream since I was little; it makes me happy and proud to lead my team,” said Claire, a student at Meadow Wood Elementary.

Cleo Hodges, a 10-year-old from Rummel Creek Elementary, said, “I love running the ball and being part of such an uplifting team. It makes me feel proud and confident.” Her teammate, 8-year-old Frostwood student Emily Braeutigam, added, “I like showing I can keep up with the boys and the thrill of catching the ball for a touchdown.”

Beyond local leagues, Jeffrey also coaches a competitive 10U team. In their first week of NFL FLAG play in The Woodlands this fall, the team went undefeated and held a 38-0 victory in the second game.

For the Klam family, the sport runs deep. His daughter, Emory, played and competed in the 2024 Select Bowl in Long Beach. Emory has now become passionate about soccer, but Jeffrey spent many flag games cheering her on the sidelines along with his wife, Sia, and daughter Karis. Jeffrey’s niece, Ashlea Klam, competes with a flag football team with Olympic aspirations. Flag football is set to debut as an Olympic sport for the 2028 games.

Girls across Houston are signing up to play flag football, a fast-paced sport that is quickly gaining popularity. Pictured is SBMSA player Cleo Hodges.

At its start, the program was intended to provide young women with a chance to compete in a sport long played only by men. Within two years, the initiative expanded to include more than 80 schools across Houston ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Alief ISD, and charter campuses around the region.

Heights High School won the 2025 Houston ISD championship, while the Texans’ sponsored team took home the NFL FLAG national title the same year.

The league has provided more than trophies. For many players, the experience was their first opportunity to lace up and take the field in a sport that had never been open to them before. 

Emory played on the first ever south region team, with teammates like Houston great Mary Margaret Dybesland, known as “Hail Mary” in the world of girls’ flag football locally.

Flag player Mary Margaret Dybesland, known as “Hail Mary,” is making a name for herself in the sport. She aspires to compete in the 2032 Olympics.

Mary Margaret, 13, has been playing football competitively since she was 8, and now plays on the team Standing on Business. She started out playing tackle football as the only girl in the league for three years in Fort Bend Youth Football League for the Stafford Cobras. At the time, there was limited availability for girls’ flag, so they made it work by signing her up for tackle. 

She moved into girls’ flag, trained hard, and was chosen for the nationwide 12U USA Football Select Team, again for the 14U and recently for All American Flag Nationals. “She’s a true student of the game,” said her mom, Geyer. “We are thankful for the exploding popularity providing a path forward for her.” Mary Margaret is not planning to stop: She has Olympic aspirations. “Brisbane Olympics (2032) is on her list,” said her mom. 

College programs have taken notice, creating new pathways for Houston athletes who want to extend their playing careers, like Mary Margaret. The goal is official sanctioning by the University Interscholastic League, the governing body for Texas public school sports.

Marin Rohling

“We are very thankful for the support given by Hannah McNair and the Houston Texans,” said Geyer. “Their support is immeasurable, and the popularity is spreading across Texas and beyond because of what they provide in equipment, uniforms, and the legitimacy of the sport of flag football overall.”

In many ways, the growth of girls’ flag football in Houston got a boost from a sibling bond. Back in 2020, then-8-year-old Brynlee Jatzlau was devastated when her girls’ season ended. Her older brother, Tayton Coffelt, then 19 and fresh out of high school, could not stand to see her heartbroken.

Tayton, known as Tayt, took a big initiative and started an all-girls competitive flag football team, The Farm League Lady Colts. Tayt is now the head coach of the TFL Lady Colts, with over 100 players, and he also coaches girls’ flag at Duchesne. The Duchesne girls' flag team was the first offered at a Houston private high school.

In the early days of TFL, Tayt and Brynlee made it work one day at a time. They pulled together a roster, trained wherever they could, and within months were competing at NFL Flag Nationals. The TFL Lady Colts has since grown into a large program.

Sixth-grader Taylor Asmus is the only girl on Emery/Weiner's middle-school flag football team. She is also a cheerleader. (Photo: hartphoto.com)

Brynlee, now 13, is the last remaining player from that original team. “It’s crazy to think that something that started as just playing with friends became part of changing history,” she said. “Being one of the first Lady Colts taught me that family isn’t always blood, sometimes it’s the teammates who fight, grow, and dream with you.”

She has gone on to earn a spot on the U.S. National Development Team two years in a row, becoming a fierce competitor and a mentor for younger girls in the program.

“Every minute spent building this has been incredible, even during the challenges,” Tayt said. “This is more than a flag football program, it’s our family. Paving the way means giving these girls the platform to compete, grow, and find their strength through the game.”

Tayt said when the girls see themselves succeed in girls’ flag football, they carry that confidence into their lives. “We’re not just coaching flag football – we’re changing what’s possible. Every girl who steps on the field today makes it easier for the next one to dream bigger and play bolder,” he said.

Duchesne was the first private high school in Houston to offer a girls’ flag football team. The team launched in spring 2025 and is coached by Tayton Coffelt. Pictured, from left: Valentina Vitale, Mia Stratham, Ella Rodgers, Olivia Van Wagener, Sofia Alonso Crosby, Molly Fote, Isa Sordelli, Savannah Nelson, Megan Holden Schmidt, Chloe Toledo, Evelyn Moss, Elise Gore, and Simone Gore.

The rise in popularity in girls’ flag football has also encouraged girls to step into football programs as some of the first females. At The Emery/Weiner School, sixth grader Taylor Asmus became the first girl to try out for the all-boys middle school flag football team – and not just try out, but earn a starting role on the team.

Taylor, 12, plays the starting center. At tryouts, when the coach asked for a volunteer to snap the ball, she was the only one to step forward. That moment sealed her spot as the anchor of the offense.

Taylor has made a point of being more than “the only girl” on a boys’ team. She prioritizes contributing value to her team and being seen as a respected player, not a novelty.

At home, Taylor’s mom Emily said, they live by the motto: “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

This determination carried her through some of the toughest times of her young life, when she battled a degenerative condition at an early age.

Sixth-grader Taylor Asmus is the only girl on Emery/Weiner's middle-school flag football team. She is also a cheerleader.

As a young child, she overcame juvenile dermatomyositis, a rare degenerative autoimmune disease. In fifth grade, a fractured spine led doctors to discover she had been living with undiagnosed spina bifida.

Fast forward to today; she does not let anything get in her way. “We are so proud of Taylor,” said her mom, Emily. “She was shy and reserved and now she is totally thriving. It is Taylor, just going for it, for herself.”

Those challenges might have sidelined another athlete. Instead, Taylor learned how to keep moving forward. “Football is just fun, and I like it,” said Taylor. “I like to work hard and be a part of the team. I want to do a good job, and it is fun to win with my team.”

For all of these young female athletes, the question is not whether girls’ flag football will last but how fast it will continue to grow.

Editor’s note: Ready to play girls’ flag football? Sign up for NFL Flag Football Houston at whosnextnflflag.com or check out your local recreational league for opportunities.