Colorado’s next football star could be a girl.

Earlier this year, Colorado became the 11th state to recognize flag football for girls as a high school sport, and now many youth leagues are offering the sport for the first time.

Ruby Schembri likes to play football.

“I like to play wide receiver or defensive end,” said the 11-year-old.

She is usually one of the fastest on the field and usually the only girl on her team.

“It’s fun to be the only girl in some of these sports and show the girls that you can do other things that the men have been doing for some time,” Schembri said.

But that will change this fall when Schembri joins the Raptors’ first flag football team.

“I’m looking forward to playing with a group of girls and moving from this environment to another,” Schembri said.

The Castle Rock Raptors are just one of the sports teams in the Arapahoe Youth League.

“As far as I know, we are the largest youth sports organization in Colorado. We support the high schools by placing athletes there at a lower level,” said Mark Steinke, president of Raptors Athletics.

AYL includes flag football for girls in all of its leagues.

“The biggest motivating factor was that it is now a school sport,” said Steinke.

This means that girls in grades 1 to 8 throughout the city have the opportunity to play club soccer.

AYL will kick off the inaugural season with a girls flag football clinic on September 17, 22 and 29.

“It’s free and contactless. We provide all the materials, all the trainers, all the skills and exercises,” said Steinke.

It is a crucial step for the development of the sport.

“More and more colleges are offering it, so it’s a scholarship program with colleges,” Steinke said. “It’s growing, it’s probably one of the fastest growing sports out there right now.”

Flag football will also be part of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

“I just want to be a great role model for the little girls out there who want to play,” Schembri said.

And for girls like Schembri, this is just the beginning.

“I would like to play in high school and middle school and maybe one day get a college scholarship and do something with the sport,” Schembri said.

Girls can register to participate in the league until the end of the first week of September.