The creation of the flag football team at AHN came from the girls, the amount of interest shown for the first year the team was coming to be. The first year of the team felt like a fun opportunity for the girls, little did they realize that they would come to win the Championship in the Tampa Bay Area as their first year as a team. Seeing how good the team was even for their first year made them realize that they could be more and that’s when the competitiveness began. 

Athletic Director, Kevin Vargas had been working on the project of creating a flag football team for around two years, until there was enough interest in 2024 to finally build a team. In 2024, about 22 girls came to tryouts, all making the team. For the second year of the team in 2025, around 50 girls showed up to tryouts, 20 leaving as members of the official flag football team of 2025-2026. 

 “He is very invested in this team and even though it’s considered a club sport, it’s treated like a varsity sport” says Ella Mosley (‘27). 

Madison Growcock (‘26) was on the team last year and knows what it takes to be a competitive team. She said, “It’s not an easy walk on team anymore, you have to put in the work. 

Insofar as winning their inaugural year she said, “It was really special and fun to experience.  Not just because we were the first inaugural flag football team at Academy, but that we could go and win that made it even more special.”

Tryouts were held during the first week of August, for two hours, about 50 girls showed up to tryouts, ending the day with 20 girls on the official team. 

“This year it was definitely harder to make the team considering there were so many girls that wanted to try out,” Growcock said. 

Practices are held Monday through Thursday for two hours, followed by the additional two to three games a week against local catholic schools in the Tampa Bay Area. Flag Football teams that Academy has annual games against include Berkley Preparatory School, Calvary Christian High School, Clearwater Central Catholic High School, Shorecrest Preparatory School, and Tampa Catholic High School. 

As of right now there are only 15 colleges across the United States that offer Women’s Flag Football scholarships. As the popularity grows from middle schools to high schools, it will grow into colleges at higher levels as well. 

“I can’t wait for another hard working season with lots of new girls, memories, and wins for our flag football team,” Mosley said.