ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Flag football is exploding across the country—and for a group of young Kansas City athletes, what started at the YMCA has turned into opportunities they never imagined.
In this episode of The Movement, presented by the YMCA of Greater Kansas City, host Mark Hulet explores the growth of youth flag football with YMCA Senior Sports Director Kayson Mathews and three standout athletes who came through the Y's flag football program: Quinn Miles, Kate Mikuls and Jordan Garcia.
Kayson shares how a group of 10 basketball players helped spark a competitive flag football program that has grown into tournaments attracting teams from across the Midwest. He also explains how the YMCA has created recreational, intermediate and advanced opportunities so athletes can learn the game, compete and continue developing.
Then, Quinn, Kate and Jordan share where flag football has taken them.
Quinn went from learning the sport at the Y to earning a Team USA U15 selection and becoming one of the top young wide receivers in the country. Kate started playing quarterback and receiver alongside boys before girls flag football had its own local teams and is now competing in sanctioned high school flag football at Mill Valley. Jordan has developed into one of the country's top young wide receivers while pursuing opportunities to play college flag football.
For these athletes, flag football started as something fun to try. Now, the sport offers opportunities to compete nationally, earn college scholarships and potentially represent the United States on the Olympic stage.
Learn more about youth sports and flag football through the YMCA of Greater Kansas City at t https://kansascityymca.org/
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Chapters0:00 Welcome to The Movement 1:46 How the YMCA Flag Football Program Began 5:50 Building a Competitive Flag Football Pipeline 7:32 The Rapid Growth of Girls Flag Football 12:40 Meet Quinn, Kate and Jordan 17:36 Team USA and the Olympic Flag Football Pathway 20:51 High School and College Flag Football Opportunities 27:26 Leadership, Coaches and Lessons From the Game 31:03 Advice for the Next Generation of Flag Football Players 33:11 The Future of Flag Football at the YMCA
