Buccaneers’ devout dedication to girls flag football
TAMPA, Fla. (BVM) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are NFL champions. They are the cream of the crop in the highest level of organized football. And they want to pass their expertise down to the next generation; a generation of football players that continues to grow: girls’ high school flag football.
In continuing their efforts to shine some light on this new age of football, the organization hosted its third annual preseason classic tournament. This tournament has turned into the largest girls flag football event in the country, highlighting almost 50 teams from 13 different counties.
What’s better is that the main faces running this tournament are both females from the Bucs’ organization, giving these aspiring football players a true sense of the opportunities ahead of them if they put in the work. One is Maral Javadifar, the assistant strength and conditioning coach currently in her second season with the team. The other is Lori Locust, an assistant defensive line coach for the Bucs who helped lead them to having the No. 1 rush defense in the league in both 2019 and 2020.
Having these two women as role models for the high school athletes was important because they understand there are so many more opportunities presenting themselves for women within the professional sports world.
“If you look around right now there’s probably coaches right beside you, there’s a GM, there could be the first woman head coach of the NFL sitting right beside you right now,” Locust said to the participants. “What MJ and I have done is going to pale in comparison to the promise and potential of anybody that’s here, if this is what you want to do. So, keep pushing.”
Not only do the Buccaneers have a prominent presence in developing girls flag football, but they are also pioneering new ways for them to continue on their path after high school. They have introduced the Buccaneers Girls in Football Scholarship, offering an academic scholarship to girls who played organized flag football and want to pursue a career in sports.
They are the first NFL organization to extend this opportunity.
They have also initiated the Junior Bucs Flag Football Program, assisting 90 Tampa Area middle schools in expanding the reach of girls flag football. With the Buccaneers leading the way, look for more NFL organizations to invest in this type of diversity and inclusion.
