El Segundo High’s inaugural girls flag football team wins six games, reaches CIF playoffs

El Segundo High School’s first girls flag football team, the Lady Eagles, won six games and advanced to the CIF playoffs in their inaugural season, students and staff said.

The program grew quickly after student interest and informal Powder Puff games led the school to organize formal tryouts. “This year, flag football was a new sport, so I really wanted to be a part of, like, making history as the first girls flag football team of the high school,” Student 1, a student at El Segundo High School, said. “It feels really empowering, and I think that that being a part of the first team is really exciting.”

School staff and players said the season mattered because it converted a social tradition into an organized CIF-sanctioned sport. “Well, to be honest, the girls really started it. They've been playing Powder Puff, in ASB during homecoming week. They've been playing out lunch. And they've been really excited about it for the last few years,” Coach (unnamed) said, noting that the sport’s CIF status the prior year helped drive participation.

According to staff remarks, almost 55 girls tried out and the program carried just over 30 players on two squads: a varsity team and a junior-varsity team. “A lot of them already play sports, so it's sort of tough to get them involved in another high school sport. But because it was the fall season, we had a lot of soccer, softball players that were interested in it,” Coach (unnamed) said.

Players described the season as both social and competitive. “I definitely wanted to challenge myself, be a part of the inaugural team, set some records, and have some fun for my senior year,” Student 2, a senior, said. Another player added that having coaches from the school made the experience stronger: “The coaches are really supportive. And it's also coaches from school, so I feel like that makes the sport 10 times better than the rest,” Student 3 said.

The team’s organizers and players framed the season as a foundation for future growth. “I would encourage other girls to come back next year because it's a really good program that we would love to build up,” Student 2 said. A closing voiceover in the recorded feature summarized the season: “The Lady Eagles had a historic season winning 6 games and making it all the way to the CIF playoffs.”

The school did not specify dates of games, the names of coaches, or detailed playoff results in the provided remarks. Officials also did not provide a breakdown of funding, facility use, or CIF division and seed. Those details were described as not specified in the record provided.