KANEOHE and PEARL CITY, Hawaii — Michael Bennett, the Seattle Seahawks’ retired Super Bowl XLVII champion defensive end, tried his hand at a little quarterbacking last weekend.
Bennett lofted a football into the end zone on the turf field at Pearl City High School, where it was caught.
The 11-year pro raised a fist in triumph and slapped hands with the receiver — not a former NFL teammate, but a keiki sporting a shirt emblazoned with “GIRLS FLAG” next to a Seahawks logo.
[Note: See below for more photos of the HIDOE/Seattle Seahawks flag football girls clinics.]
She and another girl acting as defensive back ran back to a pack of fellow participants for the next two in line to compete in one corner of the field. It was one of 10 skill stations at one of two camps — the previous day’s was at Castle High in Kaneohe — put on in by Seahawks staff in conjunction with the HHSAA and Hawaii Department of Education last weekend to introduce the state’s newest sanctioned sport ahead of its debut spring season.
“It’s important for men to support women's sports,” the Hawaii resident Bennett said afterward, “and seeing how the girls are such good athletes, and how football is kind of changing and being more open — the Seahawks are in a really important, pivotal place to allow this camp to happen.”
The camps reached the cap of 150 girls per day. They hailed from various high and middle schools across the state.
Campbell freshman Alexiis Amanonce Feliciano threw some balls next to Bennett and posed for a picture with him afterward, hoisting a friend atop her shoulders to roughly reach Bennett’s height.
“Honestly, he's a really good QB, like, did you see him throwing? Snap snap. Ten out of 10,” Amanonce Feliciano said.
She recently joined a flag football league and sees it as her sport going forward after participating in volleyball and track in middle school. Amanonce Feliciano wants to win her team’s starting quarterback job.
“Put the work in. That's what we did today,” she said, clapping her gloves together for emphasis. “And honestly, it was really good. I really loved it. It was a good mix of, like, work, but fun.”
Other stations included races to put on the flag belts; one-on-one competitions to snatch a flag from a ball carrier; cones to weave through; and targets for passing accuracy.
Each day was capped with a sprint relay competition and a MVP camper was named by the staff. At Pearl City, freshmen were the largest group and seniors the fewest.
Kawehionalani Jones, a middle schooler from Waimanalo, won the MVP at Pearl City and received an autographed Geno Smith jersey from Seahawks mascot Blitz.
“I was surprised, because I didn't think I was gonna get it,” said Jones, who plans to attend Kailua High next year. “But, I mean, I'm proud of myself that I did.”
She said she likes the sport because of the “adrenaline rush.”
Teams across the state entered tryouts on Monday. Forty-six DOE and charter schools are participating in Year 1, plus 12 private schools. Gear (jerseys, headguards, mouthguards) was donated for Year 1 from the Seahawks, HMSA and Hawaii Dental Service, but long-term funding for the fledgling sport must come from the Legislature.
DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi said he was encouraged by the level of adoption statewide, noting the participants at the Castle camp included kids from all five Hawaii leagues — the MIL, BIIF, KIF, ILH and OIA.
“We’ve got Gov. Green and his sports (task force) behind this and they supported and (got) it going,” Hayashi told Spectrum News at Castle on Saturday. “Dana Takahara-Dias (the DOE’s Title IX coordinator) was key in all of this by helping to coordinate all of the athletic directors and the principals. I know the parents are excited about it. So I don’t think there's anybody that's not.”
Zoey Naboa, a freshman at Aiea High, looked around like a proud parent throughout Sunday’s camp at Pearl City as first-timers acclimated themselves. Naboa was taught to play flag by her dad when she was 2.
Last fall’s DOE announcement that the sport would be introduced was momentous for her.
“I was so happy, because, going on my whole life, I assumed I would have to drop football once I got to high school, because it wasn't a sport that could take you anywhere,” Naboa said. “But once I heard that, I was so happy that opportunities (for flag) came out and I could take it far in life.”
Castle High senior Kristiana Vegas-Dutro, a four-year basketball and volleyball athlete, is taking advantage of flag to play one more sport before her high school days are done.
“It's something that I do with my cousins on free time, and it's something that I've been wanting to do,” said Vegas-Dutro, who heard about the DOE camps through social media.
There has been some talk that flag football will peel away athletes from other sports in an already crowded spring season.
Lilyanne Florendo, a Kalani High sophomore who played water polo last season, said at Saturday’s camp at Castle that she has chosen to play flag instead this spring.
“Our coaching staff actually really promoted (the camp) because it was a good opportunity to meet other girls that play flag football and to just get exposure on this new sport, because this is my first year playing it, and this is our coaches' first year coaching it,” said Florendo, a manager on the Falcons football team whose father played football.
Part of the reasoning for spring was to align with the college season for scholarship opportunities, Takahara-Dias told Spectrum News. The Atlantic East Conference recently became the first league to introduce the sport at the NCAA level.
Hayashi said he would leave it up to athletic directors, principals and leagues to determine what season flag should be played beyond its pilot season.
“There are competing sports, and they know best what needs to go where,” Hayashi said. “I think in the end, (it’s about) having the event in high school athletics.”
There are no classification tiers (including no junior varsity) in the pilot season.
Enthusiasm was high at the two camps. A Seahawks contingent led the way plus a handful of local coaches.
Mario Bailey, Seahawks vice president of community engagement and legends, said the franchise was hoping that Washington would become the 12th state to introduce flag football as a sanctioned high school sport. That honor instead went to Hawaii.
“We're going to actually have a vote again in April, but Hawaii has been going at it strong, and we want to make sure that they keep going and just kind of teach the girls the game, get them started,” Bailey said.
He noted that 38 colleges and universities now offer scholarships for flag football and it will be a sport at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
OIA games will typically take place as doubleheaders at one site.
According to an OIA schedule reviewed by Spectrum News, the Oahu public school league’s playoffs begin April 14.
The state will use an 80-by-40-yard space for its games on a traditional turf football field. Competition is 7-on-7. Mouthguards are mandatory and soft-shell helmets are recommended for all players.
Kalani freshman Nellie Stowers has chosen to play flag over track, water polo and club soccer. Her dad and brother told her to go out for the team, but she didn’t need much convincing.
“I was like, yeah, I know, I'm gonna love this,” Stowers said.
Stowers said at the Castle camp that Kalani had about 30 girls come out in the preseason. Some stuck with it, some did not.
“We've been throwing the ball around, just running routes and just getting used to the feeling of being on offense, defense, trying out all these new positions to see where we want to play,” Stowers said.
Castle sophomore Zerah Charles-Kalili said about 15 players were coming out regularly in the preseason for a max roster size of 25.
Charles-Kalili, who paddled as a freshman, hopes to play cornerback.
“What I like about the sport probably would be being step out of my comfort zone and finally be able to do something that I wanted to do for a while,” she said. “I just didn't have the opportunity to.”
Note: This story has been updated with photos from Saturday's Seahawks/DOE clinic at Castle High.
Note: This story has been updated with details and quotes from officials and participants.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
