The BC Lions are hoping their second women’s flag football clinic of the year helps draw more female athletes into the sport.
Lions Assistant Defensive Backs Coach Tanya Henderson started the initiative in March, inviting girls and women — ages 12 and up — of all experiences to take their football skills to the next level.
According to the BC Lions website, the clinic is led by a “dynamic team of female coaches, alongside seasoned professionals and football players.” Participants take part in an evening of football drills, scrimmaging, and gameplay.
“It’s about fostering confidence, camaraderie, and skill development,” the website said.
Henderson, the first full-time female coach in CFL history, has reportedly made it her mission to develop more female athletes in the sport.
She says opportunities in her life to play alongside CFL players made a big difference in her football career. She says flag football is a well-developed sport in B.C. and the clinics are an opportunity to attract new players and give them a unique education.
“Trying to bring the worlds together versus trying to keep them apart is a really powerful thing,” Henderson said in an interview on the team’s official podcast.
“So, to see Keon Hatcher and Jevon Cottoy running up and down the field celebrating their team’s touchdowns, and Manny [Rugamba] and Marcus Sayles working with the younger girls and like, how good they are with running programs like that was just — it was amazing. It was outstanding.”
Henderson says women up to 50 years old and girls as young as 14 participated in the first clinic in late April.
Registration for the clinic on Tuesday, Aug 13, is already full, but Henderson says it’s “really just the beginning.”
“There’s so much more opportunity for both the women who want to play and also even like players, to really get involved in women’s flag [football] and really just like flag in general. So I’m excited to see where it goes. I think there’s so many opportunities that can come out of this.”