GREAT FALLS — Girls flag football has taken not just the Treasure State but the whole country by storm. It's only continuing to grow in Montana, with more schools set to field teams in the fall.
One such school will be Great Falls CMR, and the Rustlers held their first open field of the summer Monday night outside of the school.
Leading the team will be former girls basketball coach Brian Crosby, who said it is a great opportunity to try something new.
"It's growing, I think. Us and Helena, and maybe the Bozeman schools are the last of the (Class) AAs. It'll be the first year all the AAs are doing it," Crosby said during the open field session.
"The NFL has done a really good job of promoting this and trying to get women involved. And they're trying to find an untapped market of fans and I think it's pretty smart on their part to get young people involved in the sport."
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While Crosby has taken over programs in the past as a coach, he said this is different.
"It's unique because, you know, you get to put your own stamp on it, but that stuff's already there," Crosby said. "Hardly anyone's played the sport. There's a few kids now that are coming in to high school that have played a little bit of flag football. That's pretty exciting for me like just to be able to do something that no one's ever done before."
That's the biggest selling point to the athletes, he said.
"The first class that ever gets to do this is you guys," Crosby said. "Might as well take advantage of doing something unique."
Maci Gonzales, an incoming sophomore, was one of the players at Monday's open field. She said she doesn't have a ton of football experience beside the homecoming powder puff game and casual playing.
"Most girls haven't done it, so it's a new thing and I feel like they won't be as scared as some people who have done it because no one really has," Gonzales said. "So it'll be a good sport for those people who haven't played a sport really yet. I think it'll be fun once we go home and tell our friends, and more people will show up."
Crosby said he's excited to lead this new CMR team, but one thing is most important.
"If kids have fun, that's the biggest thing," Crosby said. "When their season is done that they want to do it again, and I think that each week this will get bigger and bigger."
There will be open fields in Great Falls throughout the summer for girls to come out and try flag football, Crosby said, before CMR kicks off its inaugual season in the fall.
