Tampa Bay Hosts Girls Flag Football Tournament 

Over 1,200 athletes representing 13 different counties of the state of Florida gathered at the Tournament SportsPlex of Tampa Bay to participate in the nation’s largest girls flag football tournament.

Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, Buccaneers co-owner and president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation, along with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust, and assistant strength and conditioning coach Maral Javadifar spoke to the athletes in attendance after the first day of tournament play. The message was all about the limitless possibilities for women in football. Locust and Javadifar are both fresh off becoming the first female coaches to win a Super Bowl.

“The only thing that you need to ensure that you build up is that belief in yourself and that confidence that you can do anything,” Castor said. “Do you think the coaches here, when they grew up watching football on TV, that they ever thought they would have an opportunity to coach an NFL team? They didn’t know that because they didn’t see it. They didn’t see any women standing on the sidelines, but now you get to see them standing on the sidelines. You get to see them as coaches in the NFL, and you can be the first players in the NFL, if that’s what your dream is and you’re committed to work hard enough to get there.”

Unfortunately, there aren’t too many opportunities in football at the collegiate level for women, but that’s something the Buccaneers are hoping to help change. The Buccaneers Foundation has put forth a $250,000 commitment to their Girls in Football scholarship, which awards female football players, whether it’s tackle or flag, at the high school level with a scholarship to go toward pursuing a career in sports at a four-year accredited university. 

Written by: Jacquez McCoy