CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — London soon-to-be senior Youniq Le is tackling a unique opportunity, playing girls flag football in the Coastal Bend.
"Flag football is definitely different, like the girls are built different," Le said. "They want it. Way more than any other camps I've been to for any other sport."
The talk across Texas at the UIL Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday was whether to add girls flag football as a sanctioned sport. Despite having the NFL's support, the best-case scenario according to Dave Campbell's Matt Stepp is that it will possibly be approved for the 2027-28 season. Adding flag football will be considered at the UIL Legislative Council meeting in October 2026. To sign the petition to add the sport go to change.org.
This past weekend Le went up north on a business trip to the Cowboys Showcase, and she came back to Corpus Christi with a college offer to Texas Wesleyan.
"Seeing younger girls that I play with who are eighth grade and freshmen wanting to do the same thing as me and being as hungry as I am it's cool to see and it's fun to be a part of," Le said.
Over 30 athletes received college offers at the event to compete in the rapid growing sport.
"Her Instagram has blown up," said Youniq's father and coach Tuan. "She received another offer within 24 hours after that, and she has several college visits with other schools set up."
Opportunities in Corpus Christi for the older girls like the Saintsations are limited, that's why often times they play against the boys.
"I think we hear a lot of the guys kind of like saying oh they're just girls, it's going to be easy and then we kind of go out and shock them a little bit," said sophomore running back and wide receiver London Luckerson. "Just like showing that we can do the same thing as them because we work just as hard as them."
Even West Oso senior running back Kayden Dufour, who is one of her flag football coaches, respects her talent.
"She's amazing. She's skilled everywhere," Dufour said. "She has the speed, the quickness and the jukes. She has it all."
Overcoming adversity has only led to more opportunities. Le was recently one of 48 girls selected to the USA Football 18u Girls National Team Development Program in Los Angeles.
"I was kind of shy at first," Le said. "I wasn't sure if this is what I really wanted to do or if I was even good at it, but now I realize that it's definitely something I can see in my future."
Flag Football continues to grow across the world. The sport will be seen on the international stage when it makes its official Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games.
