Gridiron Gauntlet

The Men's and Women's USA National Football Teams Train for Olympic Glory

Chula Vista (San Diego County) - When the men's and women's USA National Football Teams gathered at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center this May, it marked the second of three training camps leading up to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. With qualification already secured as the host country, the teams are gearing up for the last major tournament before the sport makes its Olympic debut. The German city of Düsseldorf will host the 2026 men's and women's International Federation for American Football flag football world championships, serving as an Olympic qualifier.

The United States has already qualified for both tournaments as the host country. Despite this, the current player pool is not staying complacent, nor do they expect to coast to gold in Düsseldorf or Los Angeles. They know that with Olympic inclusion comes more eyes on the sport than ever before. Adding a new wrinkle to the Olympic journey is the fact that National Football League players will be eligible to join the flag football player pool starting in 2027.

At Super Bowl LX, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts called playing in the Olympics a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity and said he was going to study up on the rules if he is eligible to play. The Chronicle spoke with players ahead of the upcoming World Championships to get their thoughts on where their sport is headed. Flag players were mum about NFL inclusion, but said that if pro football players are serious about learning the sport and its intricacies, then they may have a shot at competing for a roster spot.

The focus should not be solely on future NFL player participation; instead, it's essential to recognize the growth of flag football beyond Los Angeles 2028. The sport is one of the fastest-growing in the country, being added at the high school and collegiate level in girls' flag football. That burgeoning expansion of participation is just as important, if not more, for the long-term health of flag football.

"For me and my teammates, my brothers, we all are just continuing to control what we can control, and that's ourselves," said Darrell "Housh" Doucette, quarterback of the 2021 and 2024 IFAF World Championships. "Of course, we all want to play in 2028, but we can't think that far ahead right now."

Doucette and other national team players took part in the inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic earlier this year in Los Angeles. The three-team tournament pitted Team USA against two teams of NFL stars, retired players, and invited guests. Ahead of the tournament, many past and present NFL players assumed they would dominate the field, showing why they would likely be going to LA 28.

That was before Team USA blew out their more famous opponents 106-44, winning all three games played. As surprising as that might seem, it's not hard to see why. The rules of flag football differ slightly from those of traditional tackle football, which in turn require different skills.

Players in the national team pool have shown that it is possible to make the transition between each discipline, if you're willing to put in the work. Tyler Davis has played tackle football professionally in the U.S., Canada, and Germany before making the transition to flag football.

"If you have good footwork, you can run a route," Davis said. "If that's the goal, to play in the Olympics, it has to be something that you actually take the time out of your day and study, and not just study, engulf yourself in that world."

During the beginning of his flag football career, Davis said he relied on teammates to explain the rules of the game constantly, even in the middle of games to help keep up. He initially treated the sport as something to have fun playing, but soon found just how much passion there was for flag football while traveling domestically and internationally that he quickly took the game so much more seriously.

Relying on his teammates to continue his education while honing his skills, Davis said something that former tackle football players bring to the player pool is situational awareness. At many levels, football playbooks are quite massive, requiring players to digest mountains of information for all kinds of game situations. Bringing that kind of knowledge will be valuable for someone looking to switch disciplines.

Yet, that alone won't make up for the skill set that tackle players lack once they step on a flag football field.

"I think that's the fun of it, kind of showing guys that you might have been a great tackle football player, but this is a different sport, and if you don't respect the sport, then your game won't translate," Doucette said. "You won't be as great as you were playing tackle. But if you respect the sport and want to learn the sport, then your game will be able to translate over."

While NFL participation in LA 28 has dominated the conversation about the men's team, much of the growth of the sport in the U.S. comes from the participation of children and young women. According to the NFL, almost a half-million girls ages 6 to 17 played flag football at any competition level in 2024. New Jersey became the 18th state to sanction girls' flag football as a varsity high school sport this year, and 21 other states have pilot programs for the sport.

That's a long way from having to create your own team to play on, like Ashlea Klam's family did in Texas to help nurture their daughter's development. She now plays center for the national women's team, after playing the sport in college at National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics college Keiser University and debuting for the U17 women's national team.

"I was 9 years old, and I was playing on a U14 new girls team, because that was the only age group that the NFL flag nationals had at the time," Klam told the Chronicle. "When I was younger, I didn't really have people to look up to, not because they weren't there, but because they weren't being broadcasted or showcased. Now that is actually happening."

She said that she has noticed the NFL sending high-level officials to IFAF World Championships in order to better understand the game when creating its own league and just getting stories out there.

The NFL has laid the groundwork for creating both men's and women's professional flag football leagues, although a start date has not been released. The NCAA added the sport to its women's emerging sports program, the next step in getting flag football sanctioned as an official varsity collegiate sport.

Having the sport financially supported at the collegiate level and a pro league will finally connect the development pathway that exists for many girls, who have to find opportunities where they can.

Maci Joncich played flag football growing up in Nevada, where the sport was sanctioned as a high school sport. As a varsity athlete she made the U15 and U17 national teams, and was a member of the senior team traveling to world championships right after graduating high school. She attends the University of Florida, playing flag football through the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association.

That experience on junior national teams allowed her to learn and grow her game from senior national team members, providing that pathway to representing her country at a senior world championship. But she also credits living in an area with a rich tradition in the sport, now supported by the local NFL club. She wants that opportunity across all 50 states, something an Olympic golden moment can help spur.

"I have a friend who works with the Kansas City Chiefs, and you know, she is working day and night, after hours, just for flag football to get it sanctioned in Kansas," Joncich said. "It just goes to show you what the NFL has really put into this. I can't tell you how many times I've been to the Raiders headquarters. It's almost like I know everybody there, and they know who I am."

The growth of flag football is not limited to its inclusion in the Olympic Games; it's about creating a pathway for young athletes to develop their skills and represent their country on the international stage.

Kennedy Foster of the women's USA National Football Team warms up during practice at Chula Vista (San Diego County) Elite Athlete Training Center.