Girls flag football is growing, and Colorado Springs is getting ahead of the game.

One year after girls flag football became an official CHSAA sport, the inaugural Girls Pro Flag Football Camp kicked off Monday at John Venezia Community Park, opening new doors for a new generation of girls’ flag football players.

“A former businessman once said, ‘if you’re trying to figure out how to give back to the community, just bring what you got,’” Teddi Domann, camp co-founder and volunteer marketing coordinator, said. “I’ve never forgotten that and that’s what we’ve done with this camp.”

The flag football camp is part of the same non-profit that created the Pro Football Camp, a popular youth football camp that has attracted hundreds of kids for the past 20 years.

This year’s Pro Football Camp will be held from June 23-25 and has grown into a community event with over a hundred volunteers and sponsor-funded scholarships to help kids participate.

The flag football camp is similar, providing scholarships and donated equipment so the participants don’t have to bring their own footballs and belts, especially if they had never played before.

“We aren’t trying to make money and do this all over the United States, we are not that group,” Domann said. “We are a local group of people who happen to have contacts and talent in this area just giving back to the community.”

The camp is open to 10-18 year-old girls and Domann estimates about 65 participants this year, with 11 pro women football players leading the camp.

The camp runs through Wednesday for 10-13 year old’s and Thursday for 14-18 year old’s with new participants welcome for the remaining days.

While the organization had been considering a girls-only camp for several years, it was pro tackle football player and Vista Ridge flag football coach Breaya Quintana who helped get it off the ground.

“Coaching these young girls I realized they don’t have the training and development needed for football. They are coming in brand new,” Quintana said. “So my vision was to get the skills and training prior to reaching that high school level, so they realize they have the ability to play and just build confidence in them.”

Another camp pro leader is Karen Scott, a former linebacker and Widefield native who is excited to share her love for the sport.

“I’m an advocate for women’s football at every level, especially with the popularity of girls flag football,” Scott said. “Of course, growing up, I didn’t always have the opportunity to play football. But I just took advantage of the opportunity that was presented to me later in life. I love the game, the challenge, the strategy and of course the sisterhood.”

“I am so excited that so many girls now have the opportunity to play not only in high school, but in college and earn scholarships to play and continue their education.”

The camp couldn’t have come at a better time with 64 girls’ flag football teams across the state participating in its first season and even more expected this year.

While the camp is open to all skill levels, Quintana says the girls camp is more targeted toward giving participants the knowledge and understanding of football and bringing out their skills.

“This camp is to develop these young girls so they are ready,” Quintana said. “Even though girls football wasn’t a thing when I was growing up I just went after it and I want the same for these girls.”

Besides lessons on how to play the game, the camp will also have an emphasis on building character. For example, every day the camp features an “off the field with the pros’ session where the pro athletes will choose a word of the day and share their stories related to those character qualities.

Monday’s word was ‘coachable,’ which was often repeated during drills and team huddles.

“We want to train and develop the girls, but also have conversations about other opportunities and just making sure the girls know what’s out there for them,” Scott said. “They can take this opportunity and own it and do what they want with it. You can take it to everyday life and school life.”

The inaugural girls camp is particularly exciting for girls who have previously participated in the Pro Football Camp, such as 12-year-old Blakely Bauer.

“I tried multiple camps, but it was hard to find one with just girls,” Bauer said. “That’s why this camp is really important to me. I really like being able to learn without getting frustrated. Because sometimes when you play with boys you can get overlooked and don’t get as much playing time.”

For TCA girls’ flag football quarterback Kelsey Peterson, the girls camp will be a chance to improve on her skills after leading the Titans to a state runner-up finish last season in her first year playing the sport.

“Others are improving and so I need to improve as well and that includes my football IQ,” Peterson, who will be a junior, said. “We went into the first game last season having no idea what to expect and definitely had to learn quickly and keep improving throughout the season. We have a lot to improve on this season and you can always improve on fundamentals.”

Besides improving her skills, Peterson is excited to connect with the other girls, especially the younger ones that are new to the sport just as she was.

The quarterback describes the chance to share her love of flag football through the camp as “special.”

“Growing up I’ve always loved football so getting to live out the dream and doing it myself has been so fun,” Peterson said. “It’s different from anything I’ve ever done. I hope they gain a love for the sport and gain confidence in their skills and just be excited about being a part of something new.”