Uni girls flag football team and other OC squads prepare for move up to CIF

University High School’s team, coached by Justin Schulman, captured the championship of the Matt Leinart League last season. (Photo courtesy University flag football team).

Some Orange County high school girls aren’t waiting until 2023 to compete in seven-on-seven flag football competition.

A number of them, including girls from University High School, have been playing in the Matt Leinart Girls Flag Football League since last year with hopes that the sport would eventually be approved as a CIF girls varsity sport.

It appears the girls will get their wish as CIF Southern Section Council voted 61-26 with two abstaining to approve the sport beginning in the Fall of 2023. A full vote by all 10 sections and the allied organizations at the state level will be taken in February.

Players on the University High School club team, who captured the championship of the Leinart League last year, were thrilled to hear that. Nearly 30 girls showed up for tryouts at the beginning of the year.

“Obviously, it’s very exciting,” said the team’s coach Justin Schulman. “Uni has been kind of at the forefront of this along with a handful of other schools over the past two years so it’s really exciting to see CIF supporting it.

“It’s very exciting to see the growth of the sport the past couple years and now there is talk potentially about Olympics down the road.”

Other teams in the league this year are Beckman, Corona del Mar, Crean Lutheran, Edison, Mission Viejo, Newport Harbor, San Juan Hills, St. Joseph, Sierra Vista, Valley Christian and Woodbridge.

Schulman began coaching his daughter on a fifth grade team in the Matt Leinart League and the group played “11 seasons in a row together as an all-girls team.”

Then COVID hit and there was a pause in athletics.

“The Leinart League put together a high school league last year and obviously it was great to get the girls back together,” Schulman said. “The Leinart League last year had eight schools and nine teams. This year, there are 12 varsity teams and six JV teams. The Leinart League has done a fantastic job with support from Under Armour in promoting girls football.

“They do a great job, they get the officials, they do videotape for all the games, that way teams can watch films like the boys teams.”

University won the inaugural high school championship last year defeating Woodbridge and the team’s accomplishment was noted in a segment on the NFL Network.

The team this year is off to a 3-1 start in games, which are played on Wednesday nights. Players who have been instrumental in the team’s success and helped organize the team are Leah Schulman, Riley Hertstein and Kate Stenta.

Schulman said games are four, 12-minute quarters played on an 80-yard field and there are playoffs at the end of the season.

CIF Commissioner Rob Wigod said it would be up to individual schools to determine what nights the games will be played. Schulman, who said he would like to continue as the head coach in 2023, envisions games being played on a weeknight different from what the boys games are played.

“It’s obviously going to have to work with the football schedule and the football practices,” Schulman said.

University Athletic Director Tom Shrake said school officials are excited about the addition of girls flag football as a varsity sport.

“The team is very popular with our female student athletes and has been very successful, winning the high school championship in the Matt Leinart Flag Football League last season,” Shrake said.

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com