BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — For nearly her entire childhood, Ally Cadenhead lived in the stands or on the sidelines of Warriors Stadium in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania.
After a lifetime of soaking up as much knowledge about the game of football as possible, she’ll be the one calling the plays this fall.
Cadenhead has taken over as head coach of Glenwood School’s new girls flag football program, part of one of the fastest-growing movements in American high school sports.
After years of talk about bringing the sport to Glenwood, the program is finally here, and, according to its first coach, the players can hardly wait to get on the field.
“Since the first time I put out an advertisement just to get an interest list, they’ve been super excited,” Cadenhead said. “The energy is definitely high. I think they’re all just excited to have another fall sport at Glenwood, and especially with it being flag football. There’s been talk for years about Glenwood getting a program, and now that it’s here, we’ve had a lot of girls fired up to finally get out and play.”
Turnout at tryouts was strong, she said, and the roster is now filled with athletes eager to learn a game most of them have never played.
She has also balanced her coaching responsibilities while on maternity leave after having her and her husband, Tyler’s, second child earlier this summer.
For Cadenhead, leading the program is more than a coaching job: it’s a family legacy.
“It’s super special to me, and it’s an honor,” Cadenhead said. “I grew up a head football coach’s daughter.”
Originally from Pennsylvania, Cadenhead moved to Alabama about six years ago. Her father coached football for 30 years, and she spent her childhood watching him and how he coached his players.
“Ever since I was born, I’ve been on the sidelines with him,” Cadenhead said. “He’s retired from it now, and I’m finally kind of walking in his footsteps, except as the flag coach. It’s bittersweet. I know the game, and I’m super excited to follow what my dad did, just in a girly way, I guess.”
With the program starting from scratch, Cadenhead is keeping her goals grounded.
Just one player on the roster has flag football experience, so the first order of business is teaching the fundamentals.
“For me, it’s mainly just getting the girls to learn the game first,” she said. “I expect them to be disciplined and to work hard. Learn the game, work hard and then we’ll see.”
Competitively, she is not shy about wanting to win.
“I’d love to go .500,” Cadenhead said. “I want to win. I hate losing, and I love winning. But I also understand this is our first year and most of these girls have never played before. So I just want them to give me everything they’ve got, show me they want to be here and they’re learning and enjoying the game.”
Glenwood’s launch comes as girls flag football surges nationwide.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, roughly 68,800 girls played high school flag football in the 2024–25 school year — a 60% jump over the previous year — and the sport is set to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Colleges across the country are also adding programs and scholarships to match the demand.
That expanding pipeline is part of what makes the moment meaningful to Cadenhead, who never had the chance to play in high school herself.
“It wasn’t around when I was in high school, and I wish it was, because it’s such a cool sport,” Cadenhead said. “It’s creating opportunities for girls to play another sport in college, get scholarships, get an education and maybe even play pro. There have always been scholarships for softball and soccer. Now that flag football is a thing, that’s just another opportunity for young girls and women to go off and do big things.”
For now, though, the focus is simply getting a first-year team ready to take the field and compete against more established programs this fall.
“I just want them to give me everything they’ve got and enjoy the game,” Cadenhead said.
