Tampa Bay Buccaneers wrap up 'She Is Football Weekend' promoting leadership for girls through sports

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TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wrapped up their second annual "She Is Football Weekend," a multi-day initiative focused on empowering young girls through sports, leadership and community engagement.

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The event brought together thousands of participants in Buccaneers territory, highlighting the importance of keeping girls involved in athletics and creating pathways for leadership both on and off the field.

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What may have looked like just another 5K race in the Bay Area on Saturday was actually part of a much larger mission, featuring a sold-out 5K run and an all-female flag football tournament.  

"94% of female executives played sports growing up, but girls drop out of sports at twice the rate as boys," Kourtney Sanchez, chief impact officer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said. "So the Buccaneers and the Glaser family are really committed to impacting that statistic. How do we get girls in the game, but more importantly, keep them in the game?" 

By the numbers:

The event also showcased the rapid growth of girls flag football. Florida now has more than 360 schools participating, making it one of the most established states for the sport.

"When we first started our preseason classic, we had 32 teams and 800 athletes. A couple of weeks ago when we hosted, we [had] 126 and over 3,000 athletes. So, this year, our serious football invitation, it's our second year for it. We have eight of the top teams in the nation. I would say definitely in the state over 200 athletes," Zak Zumbiel, senior manager of community impact for the Buccaneers, said.

Big picture view:

It’s a growing sport that has girls participating and staying in something that will help them grow long-term.

"We brought 12 girls down here, started playing yesterday. We had one game yesterday, we have two today. And when I told the girls they got invited to this, they were ecstatic. They love coming to Tampa," Mike Pixley said. 

Pixley is head coach of the Belleview Rattlers, one of the teams participating in the tournament.

This gives the opportunity to show what they’re made of on the field and beyond.

"I think there's so much to be learned from sports, whether it's discipline, tenacity, resilience. We see it in our locker room. The character of our players is as important to us as their performance on the field, and so that's what this mission is all about. The life lessons that sports teaches you so that you can become a leader and give back to this community in the future," Sanchez said.