LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nearly 100 middle school girls were introduced to flag football on Friday at the UNLV Peter Johann Memorial Soccer Field through the RUSH program. RUSH stands for Raiders, UNLV, Sport and Health. The Las Vegas Raiders funds the program, while professors with the UNLV School of Public Health teach the pre-teens how sports can have a positive impact on their lives.
“There are many health benefits of girls participating in sports,” said Dr. JENNIFER PHARR, a professor of public health at UNLV. “Girls who participate in sports have a lower risk of chronic diseases later in life. They have improved mental health, so better well-being, less anxiety, less depression. Also, sports teaches girls things like leadership, setting goals and achieving them, competition, so there’s so many great things about sports.”
Researchers from the Women’s Sports Foundation found that girls in middle school drop out of sports at two times the rate than their male peers. RUSH was designed to encourage the girls to continue playing sports through high school. Organizers chose flag football as the program’s core because of the sport’s growing popularity. Ever since the Clark County School District sanctioned a flag football league for girls back in 2012, participation in the program tripled in three years. Some CCSD students have earned scholarships to NIAA (Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association) colleges and universities to play flag football. The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will debut Women’s Flag Football.
RUSH organizers created the program after the CDC reported an alarming increase in anxiety and depression during the pandemic. In 2021, the agency found that 57% of teen girls feel persistently sad or hopeless, which is twice as many teen boys.
“Girls who drop out of high school often do so due to peer pressure, body image issues, or general insecurities,” Pharr said. “Conversely, girls who participate in high school sports are less likely to experience pregnancy, dropout, or health challenges later in life.”
Dr. Pharr said she is determined to provide youth in Las Vegas with the tools to not only survive their teen years, but thrive for years to come.
