{"id":6241,"date":"2026-08-03T19:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241"},"modified":"2026-08-03T19:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:38:21","slug":"flag-football-continues-remarkable-growth-leading-california-high-school-sports-increase-in-participation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241","title":{"rendered":"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
Girls sports keyed another record-setting year for high school athletics, while football participation saw a significant drop on the boys side<\/div>\n
\n
\nAlready have an account? Log In<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n This article is only available to subscribers <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
Flash Sale<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Standard Digital<\/h3>\n

$1 for 1 year<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\n
Get this offer<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nOffer valid for non-subscribers only<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read more SF Giants to trade Robbie Ray to San Diego Padres for pitcher, shortstop<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more Contra Costa paramedic, Fairfield nurse hailed as heroes<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more When is the last day for the Barnes and Noble in Redwood City?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Girls sports keyed another record-setting year for high school athletics, while football participation saw a significant drop on the boys side<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nFlag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Girls sports keyed another record-setting year for high school athletics, while football participation saw a significant drop on the boys side\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-03T19:38:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-03T19:38:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241\"},\"wordCount\":101,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/38cba992230e11ed01239e95cc651ef1-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241\",\"name\":\"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/38cba992230e11ed01239e95cc651ef1-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-03T19:38:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/38cba992230e11ed01239e95cc651ef1-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/38cba992230e11ed01239e95cc651ef1-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1750,\"caption\":\"Steve Young, assistant coach for Menlo School, chats with Menlo School's Ava Allen (2) after their 27-13 win over Los Gatos for the Central Coast Section Open Division championship flag football game at Santa Clara High School in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer\\\/Bay Area News Group)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6241#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation - Next City Digest","og_description":"Girls sports keyed another record-setting year for high school athletics, while football participation saw a significant drop on the boys side","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-08-03T19:38:21+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation","datePublished":"2026-08-03T19:38:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241"},"wordCount":101,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/38cba992230e11ed01239e95cc651ef1-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241","name":"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/38cba992230e11ed01239e95cc651ef1-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-03T19:38:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/38cba992230e11ed01239e95cc651ef1-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/38cba992230e11ed01239e95cc651ef1-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1750,"caption":"Steve Young, assistant coach for Menlo School, chats with Menlo School's Ava Allen (2) after their 27-13 win over Los Gatos for the Central Coast Section Open Division championship flag football game at Santa Clara High School in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6241#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Flag football continues ‘remarkable’ growth, leading California high school sports’ increase in participation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}