For the past six years, the Bears have poured into the girls flag football community. From helping launch the sport at the high school level in Illinois, advocating for its growth into an IHSA-sanctioned sport, opening doors for girls to play at the collegiate level and beyond, to now hosting clinics for girls of all ages across the world, the club has been a driver of flag football's rapid expansion.
Yet the Bears still saw an opportunity to further the sport's reach to a group close to home that never had the chance to experience the impact of playing the game.
Led by director of football development Gustavo Silva, the Bears hosted a Women of the Bears flag football clinic last Thursday inside the Walter Payton Center for the wives of players, coaches and staff.
"The girls have so much fun on the field," Barb McCaskey, wife of George H. McCaskey, said, "and I think for a lot of us who are older or don't have kids in school, there's a great opportunity to learn about this sport, which is so exciting, and it's growing so fast.
"And now look at the ladies here today, having a blast, learning from women about the women's game."
Nearly 30 women participated in the clinic, and while most were familiar with the sport through prior Bears events or family members who have played, only a couple had playing experience.
The opportunity to try a new sport together also allowed the group of wives to bond in a different way than they typically do. For Jordyn Hicks, wife of safety Elijah Hicks, it was the first time she experienced that type of "team" atmosphere since playing soccer at the University of California.
"It was so much fun," Hicks said. "It definitely brought me back to my days playing soccer and just being in a team environment. I don't know the last time I did a synchronized warm-up, but even that, it's just a good reminder to let your guard down. And it lets you connect to people on a deeper level when you're all trying something new, which is something that they spoke a lot about with the rise in popularity of the sport. So it was cool to experience that for myself."
While the women certainly have developed a heightened interest in football because of their familial connections, many of them, like Hicks, already had athletic backgrounds. Katie Poles, wife of general manager Ryan Poles, played college soccer and basketball, but would have relished the chance to play flag football, especially as a wide receiver, growing up.
"As soon as girls flag football started becoming big, I was like, 'take me back in time,' because I would do no sport but flag football," Poles said. "It's just so cool how involved they are, how much they care, and it's just another thing for females and girls to do. And it's so competitive. I'm super competitive, so it's fun to see that. Sports are competitive in general, but football is a whole different level. So, it's just really awesome that they took the time to invite us to come do something like this."
Before the group got into the drills Thursday, they first learned more about the history of girls flag football in Illinois from Silva as well as the high school and collegiate coaches and players who volunteered to help run the clinic.
"The Women of the Bears Clinic was a wonderful opportunity to share the excitement, joy, history and impact of girls flag football with significant others of Bears leadership, players, coaches, and staff." Silva said. "It was especially meaningful because these women did not have the opportunity to participate and benefit from the sport of flag football when they were in high school and college. They were able to talk to and learn from college players, and high school and college coaches. We hope they all left inspired to get involved in the sport in some way — as a player, coach, official, supporter or fan."
The women went on to participate in drills that focused on throwing, catching, flag-pulling and rushing skills. And while laughter filled Walter Payton Center for the majority of the clinic, the women proved to be just as competitive as their counterparts at Halas Hall, finishing the day with a scrimmage where everyone was locked in.
For McKenna Scott, wife of recently signed running back Zavier Scott, the clinic was an opportunity to meet some of the women in the Bears organization and do something she's already passionate about.
Having spent the last two seasons around the Vikings organization, Scott, who is also a professional racecar driver, started playing flag football herself and helping coach at Minnesota's youth camps. Being able to dive right back into the flag football community within the first month of moving to Chicago has been monumental for her.
"I thought it was so awesome to see women getting out there, giving it a try and having fun and laughing," Scott said. "It really puts it into perspective when you try something, how hard it actually is, and I think this will probably inspire more people to want to get involved and support it.
"It's really cool to see the growth of this sport, and how much the NFL is investing. Seeing the Bears support it as well is really special, especially coming from a male-dominated background myself with racing. Seeing a sport that's so big on advocating for girls, and even what they're doing internationally, too, is just really cool. I'm all for it."
