The Bears rookie class kicked off its second month with the team by connecting with Chicagoland's girls flag football community.
As part of the Bears' second annual Monsters Flag Football program — a series of clinics designed for age 11-17 boys and girls to learn and develop flag football skills — more than 100 girls from area high schools participated in a clinic last Friday at the Walter Payton Center.
"We were extremely excited to kick off Year 2 of the Monsters Flag Football Clinics program with the support of the Chicago Bears rookie class," Bears manager of youth and high school football Gustavo Silva said. "More than 100 girls representing 10+ high school programs learned the essential skills of the game directly from the Chicago Bears rookies. The majority of the girls in attendance were from five first-year teams, demonstrating the continued and consistent growth of the game."
All 19 Bears rookies spent the afternoon helping lead drills and teach the same sport they grew up loving.
"We were out there at the Walter Payton Center giving back to the kids, being a resource for them, trying to help them develop their game and just giving back to the community," receiver Luther Burden III said.
Since 2021, the Bears have played an integral role in starting and expanding girls flag football in Illinois, which culminated in the sport becoming sanctioned by the Illinois High School Association in February 2024.
Providing young girls with more access to football is nothing new to the Bears, but for some rookies who grew up in areas without those same opportunities, it was a refreshing moment.
"It was great just coming out there, helping these young ladies better their craft at football," tight end Colston Loveland said. "Where I'm from there's not women's flag football, so that's super cool to see that everyone gets the opportunity to do it. It's been super fun. Giving back is everything.
"We were once kids like these girls and looking for an NFL star, a college star, someone that we looked up to come out and help. So, I'd do this 100 times. It means a lot."
The Bears launched the Monsters Flag program in 2024 as an extension of the Mini Monsters program, which focuses on the introduction of football and promotion of a healthy lifestyle for kids between the ages of 7-12.
In the program's inaugural year, the Bears hosted 20 Monsters Flag clinics, teaching the game to nearly 1,500 students across Illinois with the help of current and former players like linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, former offensive lineman Roberto Garza and Super Bowl XX-winning linebacker Jim Morrissey.
As the Bears continue to expand the Monsters Flag program and reach more youth, support from additional current players and alumni will be imperative in helping the students develop their skills.
"It's really just a blessing to be able to just give back and be able to teach them fundamental football, things that we learned when we were younger, just to be able to teach them now that they're starting to get into the game," defensive back Jeremiah Walker said. "So it's just a blessing just to give back to the community of Chicago and for us to be those good role models, showing them how the game is supposed to be played."
