Women’s flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports in California and across the nation. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) officially recognized the sport beginning with the 2023–24 school year, and nearly 20,000 high school student-athletes participated statewide last year. Recognizing its rapid growth, the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) has designated women’s flag football as an emerging sport beginning in spring 2027, with the goal of becoming a fully sanctioned championship sport by 2028.

MSJC’s program will begin training during the fall 2026 semester and compete in its inaugural season in spring 2027. Based at the College’s San Jacinto Campus, the program will provide local student-athletes with the opportunity to continue competing at the collegiate level while pursuing their academic goals.

“We are excited to give the young female student-athletes of our region another opportunity to continue their athletic careers here at MSJC,” said Patrick Springer, Dean of Athletics and Student Life. “Flag football is by far the fastest-growing female sport in our area, and we believe that enthusiasm will translate into a strong and competitive program. We’re thrilled to welcome Jonathan Norton to lead this exciting new chapter for Eagle Athletics.”

Norton brings nearly a decade of coaching experience at the high school level. He currently serves as the head girls flag football coach at Moreno Valley High School, where he has also coached tackle football as defensive coordinator and secondary coach. In addition to football, Norton has coached track and field and directed strength and conditioning programs, helping develop successful teams while emphasizing teamwork, discipline, and a strong work ethic.

Before beginning his coaching career, Norton played NCAA Division I football at Fresno State University, where he helped the Bulldogs capture two Mountain West Conference championships and earn three bowl game appearances.

“I take pride in creating structured environments where student-athletes are challenged to grow not only as competitors, but also as students and leaders in their communities,” Norton said. “I’m excited to build this program from the ground up and help provide a positive, competitive experience for our student-athletes while contributing to the continued growth of women’s flag football.”

As part of the program’s launch, MSJC will offer PEIC 161-A, an introductory women’s flag football course during the fall semester to prepare athletes for competition in the spring season.

The College is currently recruiting student-athletes interested in joining the inaugural team. Prospective players are encouraged to complete the MSJC Women’s Flag Football recruitment questionnaire or contact Coach Jonathan Norton directly at cnorton@msjc.edu for more information.

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Valley-Wide Hosts Skills Event for Football Players

Valley-Wide has done a great job over the years to help balance the teams in their recreational leagues and make the experience of playing for their organization better than others. Skills day is something they added to stop coaches from loading their teams with players with the most talent just to run through the league with no other competition. Coaches are only allowed to reserve a player or two (ideally a player that is related to them), and the rest of the players have to go through a skills day.

Valley-Wide runs five drills for the kids to compete in while the coaches are there to evaluate their talent. Each kid is assigned a number when they register, and they wear that number on their chest. The first drill was to see arm strength; kids were given two attempts to throw a football as far as they could. Even though it was an excellent way to see how far some kids could sling the ball, it’s still hard to judge if they would be a good option to be the Quarterback of your team without knowing if they could make accurate passes or not. 

Next, players would go to a Wide Receiver drill where they would get two chances to run an inside post route and catch the ball. A great opportunity to see acceleration, route running, and how good of hands some of the kids had. Former Tahquitz High School Quarterback Fernando Blanco did a great job making throws to the kids. 

In the next drill, kids took turns playing offense and defense. One kid would run the football while another tried to pull their flag. When the drill was over the ball carrier would become the defender and a new kid would come in to play offense. This drill is designed for coaches to see how kids carry the ball, and how kids react as defensive players. Both are very important and should be considered when selecting your team. 

The final drill was a 30-yard dash, a straight-up speed drill designed to give coaches an idea of a player’s natural speed. After the final drill, players were free to go home with their parents. Even though the kids were there to be judged, their spirits were high. A lot of them recognized friends for school or former teammates of previous sports teams. They all had fun throwing the football on the side and playing with each other apart from the drills Valley Wide had set up for them. Valley-Wide will be in contact with the coaches to set up a snake-draft where coaches will get the opportunity to draft the players that they scouted at the skills event. A great way to ensure a fun league and maintain a competitive balance.

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