Last weekend, South Side High School hosted the Fort Wayne Community Schools Girls’ Flag Football Championship, with all five district high schools entering teams for the event.
South Side was crowned the champions, but not without some drama. The Archers edged Northrop 19-13 in overtime to reach the final, then beat Snider 20-19 in the championship.
As girls’ flag football gains momentum around the state and the country, we caught up with South Side head coach Chris Lahr to get his take on the sport and his team’s title.
Q: How long has flag football been a thing at South Side and through FWCS?
A: August 14, 2024 was the first tryout for our inaugural season.
Q: What has been the girls’ reaction to the growing popularity of flag football?
A: We had 48 girls show up for tryouts, and there were more who were interested. We could only keep 25 on the team (which is actually a lot for a 7 on 7 team). South Side has had a powder puff game for years around Homecoming time between the juniors and seniors, which has set the foundation for such an interest.
Q: Are these athletes in other sports at South or have they gravitated predominantly towards flag football?
A: Several of the athletes play in other sports (basketball, volleyball, track, to name a few). Some have made the comment that flag would be their main sport if it becomes a sanctioned sport.
Q: How did you go about building the team?
A: I had about 15 years’ experience running a flag football league in Philadelphia called Timoteo prior to moving to Fort Wayne five years ago. In Philly, I coached several teams and helped run summer camps, so I was accustomed to teaching flag football to people new to the game. Through the tryout, we had the girls run several drills and we observed their talent and passion for the game. I have an eye for certain positions and placed the girls in those positions. I leaned heavily on the other coaches from South Side as they knew the girls better than I as they coach them in other sports. Because of the large number of players, I split the team into offense and defense and helped them understand those positions sort of rapidly. I am also big on building team so I did activities off the field where the girls could get to know each other better.
Q: How special was it to win the tournament title last week and what were the keys in that exciting championship game?
A: It was very special as South Side often gets a bad rap when it comes to sports, so to win a championship for the school was amazing. What was more amazing was the way they won. The girls showed integrity in the face of adversity, and when the going got tough they did not quit and they stepped up. Also, I was pleased the way they treated the other team, even when the other team was speaking negatively towards us. It was playing as a team, playing with passion and not defeating ourselves that became the keys to the game.
Q: Do you see girls’ flag football becoming an officially-sanctioned IHSAA sport in the near future?
A: Yes. Last year there were 5 teams (around the state), this year there were 27 teams. Apparently, we need 100 teams for two years to become sanctioned. The girls and I will be doing what we can to recruit other teams in northeast Indiana.
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