It was late in the second half of the national championship game. All eyes were on 11-year-old quarterback Cora Hernandez. 

“I was really nervous,” the sixth-grader recalls. “Everybody’s depending on you to make the right throw at the right time.”

Cora scanned the field for an open teammate. With a defender in her face, Cora fired a pass. The receiver caught it and sprinted into the end zone. Touchdown! 

No one even tried to tackle the receiver. That’s because they were playing flag football, where tackling isn’t allowed. Instead, players stop an opponent who has the ball by pulling flags off their waist. 

Cora is from Tampa, Florida, and plays for the Pirate Bay Krewe. They won the 11U title at the National Football League (NFL) FLAG Championships in Canton, Ohio, in July. Cora and her teammates are among the more than 2.4 million girls and boys under 17 who play flag football in leagues across the U.S. 

As flag football explodes in popularity, far more kids are playing that version of the sport than tackle football. What does this mean for football in America? 

It was the second half of the national championship game. All eyes were on 11-year-old quarterback Cora Hernandez.

“I was really nervous,” the sixth-grader says. “Everybody’s depending on you to make the right throw at the right time.”

Cora looked around for an open teammate. With a defender in her face, Cora threw a pass. The receiver caught it and ran into the end zone. Touchdown!

No one tried to tackle the receiver. That’s because they were playing flag football. Tackling isn’t allowed in flag. Instead, players stop an opponent who has the ball by pulling flags off their waist.

Cora is from Tampa, Florida. She plays for the Pirate Bay Krewe. In July, they won the 11U title at the National Football League (NFL) FLAG Championships in Canton, Ohio. More than 2.4 million kids under 17 play flag football in the U.S. Cora and her classmates are among them.

Flag football is becoming more popular. Far more kids are playing that version of the sport than tackle football. What does this mean for football in America?  

“I instantly went from coach to overcautious dad because of his age,” Lenhart says. “In tackle, you’ve got to be ready to get mean and nasty and deliver blows and hits.”

Nine-year-old Zion Fielder is the quarterback on Lenhart’s Pittsburgh Elite flag team. He plays both flag and tackle football. 

“The injuries in tackle are worse,” says Zion, though he thinks flag football is more challenging. 

“It can be really hard to grab that small flag,” Zion explains.

“I instantly went from coach to overcautious dad because of his age,” Lenhart says. “In tackle, you’ve got to be ready to get mean and nasty and deliver blows and hits.”

Nine-year-old Zion Fielder is the quarterback on Lenhart’s Pittsburgh Elite flag team. He plays both flag and tackle football. 

“The injuries in tackle are worse,” says Zion. But he thinks flag football is more challenging. 

“It can be really hard to grab that small flag,” Zion says.

Lenhart says flag football provides the perfect training ground for kids who want to move on to tackle when they get to high school.

“Flag helps develop that tackle player and gets them ready,” he explains. “It’s all about learning and becoming better athletes.”

Lenhart points out another advantage to flag football: The sport gets more girls on the field. One out of every four flag football players in the U.S. are female. 

“It’s not a boy sport. It’s not a girl sport,” Lenhart says. “It’s a kid sport.” 

Flag football is also becoming more popular around the world. It will be an event at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles for both men and women. 

Cora says she can’t wait. In the meantime, she loves watching her hometown NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But she wouldn’t want to play tackle football. She’ll stick to flag—and thinks other kids should too.

“They should start with flag when they’re young,” Cora says. “It teaches the basics without tackling. Flag football is football.”

Lenhart says flag football trains kids who want to move on to tackle when they get to high school.

“Flag helps develop that tackle player and gets them ready,” he says. “It’s all about learning and becoming better athletes.”

Lenhart points out another advantage to flag football: The sport gets more girls on the field. One out of every four flag football players in the U.S. are female.  

“It’s not a boy sport. It’s not a girl sport,” Lenhart says. “It’s a kid sport.” 

Flag football is also becoming more popular around the world. It will be an event at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles for both men and women. 

Cora says she can’t wait. In the meantime, she loves watching her city’s NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But she wouldn’t want to play tackle football. She’ll stick to flag. She thinks other kids should too.

“They should start with flag when they’re young,” Cora says. “It teaches the basics without tackling. Flag football is football.”