Yuma Catch and Go Flag Football spreads more than the game

Yuma Catch and Go Flag Football is sharpening girls' flag skills, but it's also forming a special community and building lasting friendships

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The Yuma Catch and Go Flag Football League is growing rapidly, offering young athletes a chance to sharpen their skills and form lasting friendships and the 17U Vikings are proving exactly why the sport is gaining momentum in Yuma County.

"Oh man, it's awesome," coach Ken Nelson said. "You get to be part of a team, you get to play with other kids your age and work on a common goal and learn skills, build confidence. There’s hundreds of reasons why you want to join something like this."

For many of the girls, flag football provides something deeper than competition: a supportive community where they can be themselves.

"I have people around me where I can just be how I want, and they’re loving and supportive, and I just like that," said Vikings quarterback Natalie Johnson.

Vikings defensive back Isabella Bean-Davis added how the community is special as well.

"Being able to like come together as a group and not just as a group of girls but as a group of female athletes in a male dominated sport, it's actually like extraordinary how we just have this family and this community here with us," Bean-Davis said.

And Jayna Faber explains one of her favorite elements of the league and how that community bleeds on to the field.

“Definitely getting to play with my friends, and I think that's really enjoyable, especially since you know this is a sport that I enjoy playing," Faber said.

For Isabella Bean-Davis, the sport’s uniqueness is part of the appeal.

"I like being unique. Not a lot of girls I talk to can be like, 'Oh yes, I'm playing flag football,'" Bean-Davis said. "Being that unique one out with girls who also enjoy being unique is just enjoyable. It's great to see more female athletes find their confidence through this sports and a a lot of other male dominated sports, and I just think that it's a great thing to finally get females the recognition they deserve."

That recognition has been emotional for longtime player Natalie Johnson.

"Ever since I was really little, I played football," Johnson said. “Seeing it grow, now that I’m older, it's kind of crazy. It's emotional because I never thought the sport would grow into how it is now."

With the high school flag football season approaching, players say the message for newcomers is simple.

"Just come and try it out and see if you like it," said Vikings wide receiver Addyson Cockrell. "If you don’t, then you don’t have to do it."

And with momentum building quickly, now might be the perfect time to buy into the flag football hype.