Team Insight

TOUCHING DOWN O ver the past couple of seasons, tackle football has been regaining its pre- pandemic form. At last, the category – which for decades has been a team dealer stalwart – has stabilized. In the 2022-23 school year, 11-player football was the most popular boys' high school sport, boasting just over 1.028 million participants, according to the 2022-23 NFHS Athletics Participation Survey. e total number of high school players during that time period was slightly above 1.032 million, 3654 of which were female. But perhaps the biggest news is that flag football is expanding nationwide as the next emerging high school sport for girls. "Although the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) started flag football for girls about 20 years ago, most of the sport's growth across the country has come in the past five to seven years," states Dr. Karissa Niehoff, CEO of NFHS. She notes that nine states have sanctioned the flag football for girls, two others are expected to sanction the sport this year and 17 other states are in various stages of pilot programs. "e popularity of flag football – for boys and girls – has been growing at the youth levels for the past 10 years. In 2023, about 500,000 girls ages 6-17 played flag football — a 63 per- cent increase since 2019," notes Niehoff. "At a higher level of competition, more universities are beginning to offer flag football for girls, which will certainly enhance the appeal for girls playing the sport at the high school level. "And internationally, the sport received a huge boost with the announcement recently of flag football as an Olympic sport for men and women at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles," the NFHS CEO points out. Even the NFL is in on the flag football action. e league, in partnership with GENYOUth and NFL FLAG, will distribute more than 4000 free NFL FLAG-In-School football kits for the 2024-25 school year. rough a renewed commitment of $1.5 million from the NFL Foundation, NFL FLAG-In-School offers opportunities for physical activity to students regardless of gender, ability or skill level. Since 2014 and through the 2024-25 school year, 37,000 kits will have been provided to U.S. schools and school-based community orga- nizations, engaging an estimated 17 million students. In the larger scheme of things, tackle football participation overall is continuing to rebound. e SFIA's Top Line Participation Report 2024 reveals that from 2019-2023 tackle football increased 10 percent. e sport had 5.6 million players in 2023, up 3.3 percent (5.4 million participants) from 2022. Meanwhile, flag football climbed 7.1 percent from 2019-2023, totaling 6.9 million in 2019, and hitting 7.3 million in 2023. With participation numbers trending in the right direction, dealers are feeling some relief, but there's always room for improvement. "Football was solid last year and we didn't have a lot of inventory at the end of the year, which was good," says Mike Bruno, GM of Grogan Marciano Sporting Goods in Mansfield, MA. "Shoulder pad sales were down slightly, but uniforms, apparel and helmets were good. Looking ahead, we're cautiously optimistic. "We did a lot of early buys with helmets and have been delivering uniform orders and we're seeing more early birds [when it comes to ordering] than normal," he adds, pointing out that he believes "it looks like it'll be a good fall season." He adds that helmet technology – especially from Schutt – is becoming increasingly im- portant to customers. Also, more people are looking for information on Guardian Caps and he anticipates more of that business in the coming fall season. Bruno points out that spring football isn't huge in New England — just a few colleges are involved. But overall participation in football seems to be holding steady. As for female par- ticipation in tackle football, he notes that the Women's Pro Football Alliance includes the premier women's team in New England, the Boston Renegades, winners of five consecutive WFA Pro National Championship titles. Regarding flag football, "It's slow and steady every year," Bruno observes. "Its presence is growing, but it's hard to get a number. At the youth level, we're not really seeing it because it doesn't change the equipment levels for us." teaminsightmag.com May/June 2024 ~ Team Insight • 19 TEAM SPORTS FOOTBALL AS NEW ASPECTS OF FOOTBALL COME INTO PLAY – INCLUDING FLAG FOOTBALL, OF COURSE – DEALERS ARE READY FOR THE 2024 SEASON. BY JUDY LEAND

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