TAMPA, Fla — Girls' flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. Nineteen states, including Florida, now sanction it at the high school level, and more than 60 NCAA schools offer it at the collegiate level. But growing the game comes with challenges — and a Tampa coach is working to solve one of them.
Gregory Puskas is the head boys football and girls flag football coach at Steinbrenner High School in Tampa. He is also a father of daughters. He pulled both experiences together to create a way to open the door to flag football for anyone who wants to play.
"I think it's important that these ladies have a place for themselves and something that represents who they are and the sport that they love," Puskas said.
Puskas and his former college roommate started Flag-Up, a women-only flag football brand that makes gear specifically designed for girls. In two years, the line he started for his own players has taken on a life of its own.
"We've had sales in 38 of the 50 states now and in six different countries, so — it's really cool to see just all the athletes kind of moving in," Puskas said.
At the 2026 Florida Girls Flag Football State Championships, the passion on the field was evident. It is a thriving sport with a growing footprint — but it would not have been possible just 10 years ago.
Cecilia Leon, who plays football at Steinbrenner High, has watched the sport transform firsthand.
"I remember just starting in a simple rec league and really barely anyone ever played, and now you see like a whole bunch of girl teams from a bunch of different countries and stuff like that, and it's just fun to see everyone get together," Leon said.
The game's growth is not due to a single organization or person, but Puskas has definitely played a part.
Puskas tells Tampa Bay 28 reporter Blake Phillips that his goal has never been about profit. His 14-year-old daughter Adelaide and 9-year-old daughter Beatrice are both falling in love with football.
They inspired him to find a solution so they could play the game he fell in love with years ago. And Adelaide already sees the mark her father is making.
"Before it was so hard to find things that made playing the sport easy for us, because you would find clothes, they wouldn't fit right, or they wouldn't accommodate what we needed, so for him to make a brand that focused on women, a women-only brand for the sport that we love, it's just like, it's incredible," Adelaide Puskas said.
Current Steinbrenner player KK Ramsey has watched the brand grow from the very beginning.
"I didn't realize how much the brand was going to blow up like how it did because I remember I was the first one, probably one of the first people that wore his single leg sleeve, and now I can look at other teams and girls I don't even know. About 3 girls on each team are wearing it," Ramsey said.
Emersen Angel, who went on to play flag football at Alabama, said the brand's reach goes beyond the gear.
"Just having that representation of just an all-female brand that's specifically tailored towards flag football is so important with like the representation of it and just growing the sport. It's awesome," Angel said.
Girls' flag football will be featured in the 2028 Olympics, and Ramsey has a chance to make the team.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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