Stanhope Elmore names first girls flag football team, coach

Stanhope Elmore High School has taken a new step in girls athletics, naming its first-ever girls flag football team and putting English teacher Kashundra Davis in charge of the program for its first year. For Millbrook families, the June 3 announcement adds another after-school option for girls and puts Stanhope Elmore on the growing list of Alabama schools building out the sport.

The move matters beyond one roster. Girls flag football has moved from pilot status to sanctioned championship status in Alabama, with the Alabama High School Athletic Association voting in July 2023 to approve it beginning with the 2024-25 classification period. The National Federation of State High School Associations said 89 Alabama schools had declared for girls flag football in 2023-24, and the Atlanta Falcons later said 112 high schools across the state had embraced the sport.

Stanhope Elmore is joining that surge at a time when the schedule is already set for the fall. The AHSAA says practice for the 2025 season begins Aug. 4, first competition is set for Aug. 21, and the state championship is scheduled for Dec. 3. The association also said it will follow NFHS flag football rules starting in fall 2025, with new NFHS uniform policies taking effect in fall 2026.

The sport’s growth has been visible on the field. The 2025 Alabama High School Girls Flag Football Early Season Tournament in Dothan drew 15 teams and more than 400 players and coaches, up from nine teams and 180 participants a year earlier. That kind of jump has helped turn girls flag football into one of the fastest-expanding high school sports in Alabama, with a postseason structure that is now headed for further expansion in 2026-27 and 2027-28.

The local ripple could reach deeper into Autauga County. Marbury High School was among the Alabama schools awarded launch grants when the Falcons announced support for new programs in 2024, giving the county an early foothold in the sport. With Stanhope Elmore now entering the mix in neighboring Elmore County, the pressure is on nearby schools to decide whether girls flag football becomes part of their own athletic future, too.