GLENDALE — Young girls had some fun in the sun with current and former Arizona Cardinals players, learning the basics of football through a day camp Saturday.
More than 120 girls ages six to 12 went to the day camp held at State Farm Stadium to get a little experience in the sport. That little taste could help them uncover a passion for football down the road.
“I might want to play football, I don’t know,” said Zoey Baker, a nine-year-old taking part in the day camp. “Because it’s a fun sport and you get to run in it and you get strong muscles.”
In Saturday’s camp, the kids learned many skills from the pros, including Cardinals linebacker Dennis Gardeck.
“It’s awesome to share the game that I’ve played since I was a kid, with anybody. But, with the girls, especially, getting them caught up. They’re so fearless and ready to take on any new challenges. It’s so much fun,” Gardeck said.
The Arizona Cardinals say this is the third year they’ve held the camp, wanting to give girls a safe and comfortable environment to welcome them into the sport.
“I actually kind of want to play football when I’m older,” said Avery Reiman, a nine-year-old. “I kind of want to prove people wrong that because people think boys are stronger than girls, and we’re equal.”
Some of the girls in the camp could go on to play flag football at the high school level, which is a recently sanctioned sport by the Arizona Interscholastic Association. They approved it back in December. Currently, more than 50 teams are approved for girls high school flag football. That number nearly doubled since the sport was approved.
The AIA said they could possibly start with two divisions, and it’d follow the regular tackle football schedule as well.
“This is one step for a lot of these ladies. They’ll start here, then we’ll support them throughout middle school. When they’re at the high school level, based on the AIA sanctioning, they’re going to be able to receive that type of support, and ultimately continue either playing the sport or just start being fans of the game,” said Horace Raymond, the director of community relations with the Arizona Cardinals.
