Through a partnership between ANTS Sports and OUSD YES! Sports, elementary school students across Oakland are discovering new skills, building confidence, and finding their place on the field.
On Saturdays in Oakland this fall, elementary school students are running routes, learning plays, celebrating touchdowns, and cheering on their teammates. Some have played flag football before. For others, it’s their very first time holding a football. What brings them together is the opportunity to try something new, discover what they’re capable of, and be part of a team that celebrates their effort and growth.
The 2026 ANTS Sports x OUSD YES! Sports Flag Football League kicked off on October 3rd, bringing together 20 elementary school teams for another season of football, sportsmanship, and community. Now in its third year, the league continues to grow, creating more opportunities for Oakland students to experience the joy of playing sports in a supportive, welcoming environment.
Bringing Flag Football to More Oakland Students
This season, 20 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) elementary schools are participating in the league, with 10 all-girls teams playing in the morning and 10 co-ed teams playing in the afternoon. The league serves students in grades 3-5, with games held on Saturdays at Frick Middle School through November 21.
Participation is completely free for families.
Made possible through OUSD Expanded Learning and the YES! Sports initiative, the league helps remove financial barriers that can prevent children from accessing organized sports. It also creates opportunities for students whose schools are not part of the 20 league teams to participate on Saturdays as free agents, joining teams that need additional players.
Each participating team has a weekly enrichment practice with ANTS coaches through its after-school program. These practices give students time to learn the fundamentals, build skills, and develop familiarity with the sport before bringing what they’ve learned to Saturday game days. The result is a program that connects after-school enrichment with the excitement of a real league experience, giving students opportunities to grow both on and off the field.
Between after school enrichment practices, league games, and free agent invitations, ANTS is able to reach hundreds of students each and every week for our flag football program alone. For us, this access is central to our mission: every Bay Area child deserves a coach who helps them fall in love with sports for a lifetime.
A Different Kind of Sports Experience
At ANTS Sports, we believe youth sports should be fun, inclusive, and focused on helping kids grow. Winning isn’t the measure of a successful season. We want every child to feel supported, experience the joy of learning something new, and know they belong on the field.
That philosophy is especially meaningful in the all-girls flag football league.
At the beginning of a season, some girls arrive having never touched a football. Some aren’t sure whether football is something they would enjoy playing. We’ve even heard parents question whether flag football is a sport for girls at all. With dedicated coaches, supportive teammates, and the opportunity to practice and play real games, something begins to change.
Girls who initially laughed at the idea of playing flag football start learning plays, running routes, scoring touchdowns, and cheering each other on. They begin to see themselves as athletes. Their families get to watch them discover new abilities, take pride in their progress, and do things they may never have imagined themselves doing.
Watching this transformation is one of the most powerful outcomes of our work. The change isn’t just about learning a sport. It’s about challenging assumptions, building confidence, and discovering that a new experience can become something you love. This is particularly important for girls, whose participation in sports often declines as they get older. By helping girls start to see themselves as athletes through positive sports experiences, we hope to foster a lasting sense of belonging in sports.
Youth development through sports extends beyond the girls’ flag football league. Across our multi-sport enrichment programs, we see students develop teamwork, patience, resilience, and confidence as they learn to navigate unfamiliar challenges. Whether a child is playing flag football games on Saturdays or simply attending a sports enrichment class after school, a positive sports experience can help them feel more capable, connected, and willing to try again.
Making Sportsmanship Part of the Game
A supportive sports environment takes intentional coaching and a shared commitment to how we treat one another. That’s why ANTS Sports incorporates our STAR sportsmanship principles throughout the flag football season:
- S: Super Fun. Whether we win or lose, we want everyone to have a super fun experience.
- T: Teamwork. We’re all part of one team. We work together and support one another.
- A: Always Try. We give our best effort and recognize that we can improve with practice.
- R: Respect. We show respect for our teammates, coaches, opponents, and everyone on the field.
These principles come to life in small but meaningful moments throughout each game day. Before games, coaches and league organizers talk with players about sportsmanship. After games, opposing coaches recognize players who demonstrate our STAR values, and players congratulate one another with a high five and a “Good game.”
We also recognize a STAR Sportsmanship Team of the Week in both the girls and co-ed leagues. The winning teams receive a special game ball that every player gets to sign. The ball then lives at their school as a celebration of their accomplishment and a lasting reminder of the teamwork, effort, fun, and respect they brought to the field.
Our first team honorees of the 2026 season were Horace Mann in the girls league and Markham in the co-ed league. Both teams stood out for their positive attitudes, strong attendance, encouragement of teammates, and respect for others.
The Power of Partnership
The flag football league is one example of what’s possible when organizations work together to make youth sports more accessible. We are grateful for our partnership with OUSD YES! Sports, as their support allows us to reach exponentially more students than we could on our own and helps ensure our programs have the biggest impact possible for our Oakland community.
After school programs host ANTS coaches weekly for enrichment practices and assist with recruiting students for the league. The wonderful YES! Sports on-site team provides essential logistical support on Saturday game days. This shared work allows our coaches and staff to focus on creating a positive environment and showing up fully for the kids.
This partnership connects schools, families, coaches, and community organizations around a shared investment in Oakland’s youth. We see the impact in the students who discover a new passion, the families, after school coordinators, and principals who come out to cheer, the coaches who encourage kids through challenges, and the school communities that celebrate their students’ accomplishments.
The Season Is Just Getting Started
With games continuing through November, there’s still plenty of football to play, skills to develop, and memories to make. Our final game day on November 21st will be the second-annual All Star Extravaganza: a joyful carnival-style skills expo that allows us to close the league rooted in our core values of sportsmanship and community togetherness, rather than with a championship trophy for one team.
We’re grateful to the OUSD YES! Sports team, participating schools, site coordinators, families, and coaches who make this league possible. Most of all, we’re excited for every student who gets the chance to step onto the field, try something new, and discover what they can do.
The impact we’re working toward extends well beyond a single season. By introducing children to sports in a way that prioritizes fun, inclusion, skill development, and belonging, we hope to help them build healthy relationships with physical activity that continue into middle school, high school, and beyond.
At the end of the day, youth sports can be about so much more than the game. They can help kids build confidence, find community, and develop a lifelong love of movement and play. That’s a win worth celebrating.
Game on!
Stay up-to-date on our 2026 Flag Football League highlights and STAR Teams of the Week on instagram: @antssports
Watch our 2025 end-of-season highlight video here.
About the author
