WASILLA — When Seattle Seahawks Managing Director of Community Engagement Becca Stout was in high school two decades ago, competing in flag football wasn’t even an option.

So being able to lead the charge in putting on the team’s first-ever girls flag football camp in Alaska on Friday, at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, was especially meaningful for her and the organization.

More than 70 girls from across the state gathered for the camp, proving to Stout that the tide has turned for girls competing in football.

“I would’ve loved to have that, so now just every girl moving forward will have this opportunity to play football and it’s so cool,” she said. “We were told for so long that it’s just a male-dominated sport, and it’s not anymore.”

Girls flag football is being sanctioned in the state of Washington next month. Alaska had its first sanctioned state title last year. While the Seahawks have been coming up to Alaska regularly for the last decade and a half, they only started focusing on supporting the flag football community in the past couple of years.

“Supporting girls flag football is a really big initiative for the Seattle Seahawks,” Stout said. “It’s been a huge focus for us, not just in the state of Washington but helping it grow around the whole world.”

As interest has continued to grow, so has opportunity for flag football players, from youth athletes up to the highest levels.

“The girls here are out here hustling and competing and just trying to grow the game,” Stout said. “There’s so much opportunity for girls to play the sport now. More and more colleges are offering the sport so just the opportunity for scholarships for these young athletes, and it’s going to be an Olympic sport in (Los Angeles) in 2028. Hopefully someone from Alaska is competing in the Olympics in 2028.”

[Previously: Once dismissed as ‘powderpuff’ sport, Alaska girls flag football gets boost with first-ever sanctioned state championship]

Among the Seahawks contingent traveling north was starting right tackle Abraham Lucas, who was making his third visit to the state for an outreach event.

“One, I like Alaska, it’s a great place, and two, it’s nice to give back,” he said.

Lucas does a camp every year in Everett, Washington, and likes to be able to travel to other places and participate in similar events, especially ones that support the growth of sports such as flag football.

“Any capacity that you can get people to play football, whether it’s flag or two-hand touch, we all started off as young kids playing football in the front yard or backyard,” he said. “It’s great to still see people having fun with it, playing it and having a good time.”

Lucas played football at Washington State University and is happy that flag football can provide girls around the world the chance to continue their athletic careers beyond high school.

His advice to student-athletes who aspire to make it to the next level is that playing collegiate sports takes “a lot of sacrifice” and becomes like a job at some point.

“If you put all your time and energy towards it, it’ll go great for you because there’s no substitute for hard work,” Lucas said.

Proof of tangible growth in Alaska

There were at least 10 high school flag football programs from across the state represented at the event by either coaches or participants.

“It’s a great experience and opportunity for the girls that they normally don’t get,” West Anchorage head coach Antonio Wyche said. “It’s an opportunity for them to get to see different levels of football.”

The first-ever sanctioned high school state championship tournament for flag football was another indicator of how much the sport has grown in Alaska.

The Eagles have historically had “great numbers” when it comes to the participation level during Wyche’s tenure at the helm of the program. He has heard from other coaches with budding and traditionally smaller programs that their numbers are on the rise since the statewide sanctioning of the sport.

“The excitement that the girls are talking more about football is great for our sport,” Wyche said.

North Pole senior Jaelynn Colby was on the state championship team last year and has been playing flag football since her freshman year. She and her sister made the 326-mile trek to take part in the camp put on by their favorite NFL team.

“Me and my sister made this commitment to come here, we are Seahawks fans ourselves so it was pretty cool to come meet these people,” Colby said. “It’s so cool to me and awesome to have them here.”

[Previously: North Pole earns first-ever Alaska state flag football title]

While she plays a lot of sports, flag football is the one she wishes to play in college the most.

“This is definitely the best camp I’ve been to for a sport that I’m playing,” Colby said.

Two of her former Patriots teammates, Tiahna Guzman and Camryn Williams, represented not only their program but Alaska as a whole in flag football at the 2025 NFL Pro Bowl games, which she feels further underlines the sport’s rapid growth in the state.

“This has been the best year ever,” Colby said. “After our state win, we realized that this is going to be the next big thing. We’re kind of preaching it more at our school, so we’re telling all the girls that if you want a chance to do something other than your other sports you play, we’ve got that opportunity, so why not start now (rather) than later?”

Guzman is one of several girls in the state in recent years who have earned scholarships to continue playing flag football at the collegiate level. She will be taking her talents to Bryant and Stratton College in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, this fall.

Just being able to compete for a state title was a dream of Colby and her teammates when they first started playing flag football four years ago. To be able to top Service for a state title and be part of history made last year’s ride even more special.

“We’re really excited about this next year,” Colby said. “We’re going to build our team up. We lost some key players but we’ve got some new ones coming in, and I’m really excited to see how this next year goes.”