Perseverance drives BVSD’s first flag football team into existence, playoffs

On Saturday, Boulder Valley School District’s first all-female Flag Football team’s inaugural season came to an end. While, of course, the team had visions of making it all the way to the championship game – the prospect of a team, let alone a playoff berth, was unimaginable only one year ago.

“It's just been exciting to be part of something that is new and just beginning,” said Abbey Elalouf. “Getting this far in the first season is really cool. I don't think any of us imagined that we would be in the playoffs, let alone number eight seed. We have been able to get so much done in such a short amount of time.”

The team was something that Elalouf and her teammate and fellow Monarch senior Avery Kennedy fought for.

“Avery and I started talking about it kind of early on,” Elalouf explained. “We knew we really wanted it.”

The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) first sanctioned the sport for the 2024-25 school year. The Boulder Valley School District opted against fielding a team initially, as it worked to access student-interest and determine funding and logistics. The plan was for the sport to be considered by the district’s athletic review committee during the normal two year process, which would begin this school year. That meant no flag football team this fall.

The girls, however, would not take no for an answer.

Undaunted, the student-athletes worked to gather the names of girls across the district who wanted to play the sport. By spring their efforts had paid off. The surge of interest prompted the district to approve the new team. 

“We have come a long, long way, and it's amazing,” explained Sami Kianpour, a senior at Boulder High School.

That green light, however, was only the first step. A lot needed to be done before the season started or even summer practices could be held. The decision was made to host the district’s team at Monarch High School, so the school’s athletic director, Eric Gustafson, immediately got to work, finding a coach.

“Things launched very quickly,” Gustafson said.

“It was all just kind of a whirlwind, to be honest with you. I was hired at the start of the summer” said Monarch Flag Football Head Coach Colin Hart. “One of the biggest struggles for us, at first, was teaching the teammates who were brand new to the sport the fundamentals of football, how to pass and catch. During the first practices that we had, it was like, ‘okay, line up on the line of scrimmage.’ And some of the players were like, ‘What's that?’ Coming from that to where we are now is incredible. It really is a testament to these girls. They've done everything we've asked them to and more.”

Another challenge was finding a field that the team could play on.

“I had a lot of help from a lot of different places, including the district’s grounds crew and bond team. They helped me brainstorm and find solutions,” Gustafson said. “Monarch PK-8 was generous enough to let us use their field. We dressed it up a bit and made a good season out of it.”

While the field didn’t have stands, parents and fans made the most of it, bringing lawn chairs.

“Understanding it is a brand new sport and everyone is just getting their feet wet, we approached everything with a lot of grace and made the most out of it,” Hart said. “The job is not done, but the fact that we can sit here today and say that we're going to the state playoffs is outstanding.”

“It all came together,” said Gustafson. “I think the kids and the coaches are going to treasure this season. I think they're going to look back on it with a lot of joy and they'll have a sense of being pioneers.”

“It's not just girls flag football, or a girls sport. It's football,” said Addie Locks, a senior from Centaurus High School. “We are here to play football and deserve the recognition for it."

Coach Hart believes that the experience of building a team from the ground up and fighting their way to the playoffs have prepared them well for whatever is ahead for these girls.

“We have been talking a lot about mental toughness over the past few weeks. What is going to break you? What is your breaking point? Is it one bad play? If it's one bad play, then this might not be the sport for you. If you can get past that last play, you can get past that drop pass, that missed tackle, we're fine. There's such a bigger grand scheme to things than it is just that one play. So what are we going to do to make sure that we win the war, not just the battle, right?

There is no question – the seniors who built this team have the mental toughness needed. 

Colleges, take note. They will be coming your way after graduating next May.

“Even though I just started the sport this year, I've grown such a love and passion for it that I would definitely want to do it in college,” said Elia Shen, a senior at Monarch High School. “I definitely want to talk to whatever college I go to, talk to their students' sports facility and see if I can make that happen.”