Flag football is a sport that is still not so familiar. While it is a newer sport in Arizona, flag football has gained in popularity and attention in recent years at Xavier College Preparatory.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) sanctioned the sport in 2022, and a year later, in the fall of 2023 Xavier made it a school team sport.
In its beginning stages the team started off small with girls unsure as to whether they wanted to play a new sport that was just introduced. Throughout the years, however, the sport progressed in size at Xavier and in the state. Going from about 30 teams in Arizona a couple years ago, there are over 100 teams now. Flag football has quickly caught the eye of many.
Xavier welcomed its new team with open arms in 2023, and through consistent hard work and dedication, the coaching staff and players built a solid foundation and a winning team.
Guilianna Bulkley ‘26 shared that she witnessed so much growth on the team. “There is so much more student involvement and dedication.” She shared that she is proud of all of the college attention and scholarships that girls now have the opportunity to receive.
Xavier flag football even caught the attention of the Arizona Cardinals, who selected Bulkley, Grace Ledoux ‘25 and Ruth Reyes ‘26 to play in an all-star game at the Cardinals Stadium on August 10.
Xavier’s flag football team also had the opportunity to play in the first-ever live televised game, which was also hosted by the Arizona Cardinals on September 24.
Alana D’Alessio ‘25 stated, “I am so proud of how many new girls have taken interest in our team.” As a graduating senior, she hopes to see the team reach its goal of winning state in future years.
Throughout the years, the athletes grew closer and fostered strong connections with one another and their coaches. They stuck with each other through wins and losses as they aimed to grow their team into a strong group of players.
Junior Cooper Hidalgo ‘26 said, “I enjoy hanging out with my teammates and friends on and off the field. During the first year of playing, I was really hard on myself and through my friendships on the team, I was able to gain more self confidence.”
Head coach Michael Patterson, weighed in on the progress he has seen in recent years stating, “We have a young team, and we are getting better as we take on better opponents. We are also growing our football knowledge.”
Patterson has seen lots of communication between the girls, including seeing the older girls on the team take the younger girls under their wings in order to help them grow.
The girls on the team want everyone to see that they are more than just players on a flag football team. They have worked hard and dedicated so much time to the growth of the team throughout the past three years.
“I want flag football not to be overlooked. I want others to see how hard we work, and I encourage everyone to come out and support us at our games, and for students to get involved as either players or team managers next season.” D’Alessio shared.
