Girls high school flag football will get a chance to shine at the NFL draft.
Four players from Metro Detroit teams will join the NFL on stage to help announce the Detroit Lions’ first-round draft pick.
Ayla Barnes, a Bishop Foley High School senior in Madison Heights, has been selected as one of those players.
Barnes was part of an experimental flag football league her sophomore year.
“It was just Bishop Foley and Rochester Schools, and we ended up having a game,” said Barnes. “And we were like, you know what, this is really fun, and we’re learning something, and this is something that could be really big.”
The next year, the NFL and the Lions came calling.
Both organizations pledged their support for a pilot league in Spring 2023.
“They came in, and they helped us with uniforms and flags and equipment,” Barnes said.
The four teams participating in the pilot program played at Ford Field.
Next week, one player from each team will be on the NFL draft stage to help announce the Lions first-round draft pick.
“I’m so grateful that I get to have this opportunity to bring publicity and new eyes to girls flag football,” Barnes said.
Meanwhile, girls’ high school flag football is growing fast. Twenty-four schools have teams participating in the Spring 2024 season.
“People do care about us, and they do want us to be in the game,” Barnes said.
Ford Field will once again host games for the league on May 11 and May 19.
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