The Girls’ Flag Football team is back for another season. But this year, the spirit of competition has been turned up a notch. 

The girls made history last year as Sandburg’s first ever Flag Football team, but since then, the Flag Football community has experienced another historic breakthrough. On February 5th of last year, the Illinois High School Association approved the Girls Flag Football State Series. This means that Sandburg’s team can now compete at the state level. 

Last year, Coach Drzonek explained, the team made up their own conference. It involved local schools like St. Laurence, Bolingbrook, and Stagg. This year, however, the 161 teams in the state will get a chance to compete in a much larger tournament. 

This change in the level of competition has come with a change in the structure of the team. Drzonek explained that as opposed to having just one team practicing together like it did last year, there are now two separate levels: a junior varsity and a varsity team. Last year, junior varsity did not have a set program—they just played three games. Now, under IHSA, varsity will have a chance to go to state. 

For the girls on the team this season, the stakes are higher than ever before. Monajah Ewuosho, back for her second year on the team, is excited to see the competition they will be up against. “A lot of different schools have created new teams,”  she said, “ so it’s pretty interesting to kind of guess and see what schools are going to be a good competitor.” 

But while there’s excitement over who the girls will face off and varsity/jr. varsity divisions, the team’s sense of unity remains one of their defining factors. Ewuosho, for example, chose to do the sport again “because of the growing opportunities to connect with the same people.” She added that many of the girls do not have classes together, so they get to have fun connecting in a different way when they play their sport.

Ewuosho has noticed that being on the field brings a whole new atmosphere and energy; “it’s kind of crazy to think that we can connect on that type of different level and environment,”  she said.

Ewuoshu also said that when the team found out they were able to compete, “it was kind of like a deep breath.”

Though the meeting with the Board did not end how they wanted it to, Ewuoshu said, “the fact that we were in a position where…we were able to speak for ourselves and…the student body” made them feel like they have a “voice in the world.”

“You may not get the success you want,” she said, “but the fact that you have a voice—that’s what’s most important.”

Coach Drzonek agrees that the group’s connectivity is part of what makes the team so special. They all start out with the same level of knowledge of the game, Drzonek explained. So, though there is a variety of skill sets—some are fast or some can read the field well, for instance—Drzonek said, “just watching them grow together as a unit and see that success together is amazing.” She hopes that this year, they develop their qualities of sportsmanship and teamwork. 

Inclusivity plays a large role in the interconnected nature of this sport. “I also thought one exciting aspect of flag football is that it gives students who have never played a team sport the opportunity to join a team at Sandburg,” Drzonek said. “No prior experience is necessary so if you didn’t grow up playing sports, then you still have an opportunity to be on the team.” 

Now, this team does more than win games—it helps girls grow in their confidence. “I hope that we get to empower young women through sport,” Drzonek said, as well as work on “introducing females to the world of football” because women have had limited exposure to it. Drzonek recalls that after the powderpuff games in the past, the girls have always expressed the desire to keep going, to play another game. She herself had the same experience when she played for powderpuff for Sandburg in 1995. So, having an actual team gives girls the chance to grow and learn about the game.

The girls on the team have experienced empowering moments even outside of school. Last year, for example, a student told Drzonek, “My family plays in a turkey bowl every year on Thanksgiving, and I never played but this year I’m going to play because now I know what I’m doing.” In this way, the coach said that “it gave them confidence as individuals.” 

There is lots to be excited for this season. Drzonek is looking forward to “just watching the girls develop in the game of football–-them learning how the game is played and understanding it and seeing that growth in the individuals is really powerful.”

Even last year, Drzonek noticed that from their first to their last game, it was like looking at two different teams; because they had limited knowledge in the sport, they learned a lot each time they got on the field. Drzonek said, “Every time they go out there they are just learning leaps and bounds…it’s amazing to watch.” 

“There’s a love we feel for our sport,” Ewuoshu said. This passion has been made clear through the team’s deep sense of unity and resiliency, but also through their ongoing efforts to empower and inspire. 

“I most look forward to seeing a group of girls involved in the world of football,” Drzonek said regarding her hopes for this season—and this is a testament to the strength each and every girl on the team carries.