The Mustangs Girls Flag Football team has started the season and just came off a win against Grayslake Central.
Although this is Mundelein’s first year of offering girls flag football, other schools in the North Suburban Conference have already had a year of flag football experience. Even with that, the team has been able to take on the challenge of competing at a high level.
Varsity Girls Flag Football Coach Randall Lerner said, “Girls flag football is so new as a sport that most of our athletes have never played flag football before. So that’s one of the biggest differences – we are all kind of learning this sport together, fresh.”
Just because girls flag football is a new sport doesn’t mean expectations are any different from any other varsity sport. Lerner said, “We’re still having the expectations of a varsity sport. It is new, so there’s still a lot of learning, but that still requires focus, intensity, and execution.”
Lerner expects full concentration at practices so the team can continue to improve and gain success in the future years.
Lerner has goals for the team and hopes all the athletes can walk away with a good experience and learn more about the sports and learn more about themselves as well. With hopes the athletes have a good experience, Lerner also talked about the growth of the sport,“I think the biggest way to grow is just by giving our current athletes a good experience and pushing them to have success so they want to come back and tell their friends about it.
Mundelein’s girls flag football program has three levels so far, varsity, JV, and JV2 teams. The goal is that the program can help develop players and continue to find success for the varsity team while growing players at the lower levels.
Alissa Denisov, a sophomore who was interested in flag football wanted to try it out and loved the sport. Denisov helped create the girls flag football program so that MHS athletes who wanted to play could compete as an official team. Denisov said, “The most challenging thing was making the sport official at our school. We hit many road bumps like being told it wouldn’t happen until a couple years, or how it can be an intramural but not an official sport. After months of work we made it happen as an official sport.”
Denisov’s goals for this season are to improve at each position on the field and gain a strong bond with the teammates and her coaches. Denisov said, “Performance wise I would love to pull more flags, get more interceptions, and pick sixes on defense and on offense score a touchdown or two.”
Denisov really just wants to be the best possible player she can be.
Madalyn Gardner, who is a senior girls flag football player, chose to play for the team because of her previous interests and the enjoyment of watching everyone play powderpuff during homecoming week. Gardner said, “The most challenging thing would be the fact that we’re playing teams with two or three years of experience and we are still learning to play the sport.”
Gardner’s goal is to get interceptions and touchdowns but most importantly win more games.
Julie Ellingsen, the other varsity girls flag football coach, decided to play because of the athletes and the passion and energy they commit to the game. Ellingsen said, “I was really excited about this opportunity for our girls but also for the community of Mundelein. The athletes that pushed this to be a sport and never gave up, so many showed up in the summer unsure of what was the next step. I would not be doing this if it wasn’t for the students at Mundelein high school.”
Ellingsen also stated, “Coaching them is about more than football—it’s about being part of a powerful movement in women’s sports, where opportunities are expanding and barriers are being broken. I want to stand beside them as they prove that girls not only belong in this game, but can thrive in it.”
The challenge for the team is finding available space for all levels and getting a chance to practice on the actual football field. Ellingsen has multiple goals for this team, “We are out here to show our greatness. Our girls deserve to make a statement and show everyone that they are so much more. Our main goal is to just be better than the day before. There is so much to learn. This is the first time girls are playing football. Learning the sport is challenging enough. Learning positions, plays and different formations is hard. We are asking them to do all of that and to compete.”
Ellingsen wants the team to keep a positive mindset throughout the ups and downs and continue to grow in the sport. She notices how well the team pushes each other and works together to work on weaknesses but also share things going well.
Ellingsen shared, “One thing that makes this team special is the positive acknowledgement before games or ending practices. They fill each other with positivity. They never want anyone leaving feeling disappointed. Our seniors pull the team together in a circle and go around sharing shout-outs or things they personally want to improve on. They are trying something new, something hard, and they have realized they need every single person to be there and show up to improve.”
Ellingsen has learned many things about coaching this sport but most importantly she said, “I’ve learned that when given the chance, women don’t just participate in a mentally and physically tough sport—they thrive, they lead, and they redefine what the game can be.”
