Research In Action

Flag football continues to gain popularity as an accessible and inclusive sport, specifically as an alternative to tackle football. In 2024, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) sanctioned girls’ flag football to be an official sport at the high school level. The National Football League has started a campaign to make girls flag football a varsity sport in all 50 states, following launches of girls flag football leagues by the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers in recent years. 

In addition, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has shown support for the sport, and will serve as the Flag Football Ambassador when it debuts at the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 

The Minds Matter Concussion Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has been a leader in researching repetitive head impacts in youth sports to better understand how and when they occur. Our research has helped to inform conversations on the importance of proper safety equipment in not only tackle football, but sports such as soccer and lacrosse. 

We have turned this attention to flag football – with the goal of obtaining a deeper understanding of head impacts and protective equipment in the sport. With funding support from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE), we are conducting research that aims to quantify head impacts in youth flag football with the goal of evaluating the effectiveness of headgear. 

To do so, we have partnered with Flag Football Life to collect head impact data from youth athletes using instrumented mouthguards to measure the severity of impacts they sustain. On the sidelines after each game, we use pupillometry (a quantitative assessment of the reaction of the pupils to light) to better understand the physiological responses resulting from impacts on the field. Our team is also conducting surveys with flag football players to find out their attitudes toward wearing headgear and what barriers may exist that would deter them from using headgear during games. 

Across our research and clinical teams, the Minds Matter Concussion Program has committed to conducting translational research that can have positive impacts to encourage safe sport participation, help prevent injury and improve health outcomes for young people who experience a concussion either in or outside of sports. We believe in the importance of a concussion-aware community—ensuring that athletes, families, coaches, league officials, school leadership, and all those responsible for the care of a child in settings where concussions occur are informed to make decisions that best support that child’s overall health and active lifestyle. 

As we continue to collect data in this project, our long-term objective remains to inform the conversation about protective equipment in flag football and provide stakeholders with a clear picture of the effectiveness and provide recommendations regarding use.