Girls gain yards on flag football field

There were times when Jo Overstreet felt all alone as a standout flag football player on boys' teams growing up in Texas.

Sure, she was accepted. Considered to be "just one of the boys".

She longed for something more -a sense of sisterhood.

These days, the 40-year-old receiver for Team USA sees a thriving community of females, of all ages and abilities, lifting the sport to new heights. It's an expansion that will only be enhanced with the sport's recent addition to the Olympic program for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

The noncontact game, featuring plenty of fast-paced action, has been on the rise for a while, with women-only teams and leagues springing up from coast to coast- from continent to continent, too. Eight states have sanctioned girls flag football as a high-school varsity sport - more are initiating pilot programs- and college scholarships are now offered for female players at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics level. The NFL has even thrown its weight behind flag football through leagues and events.