A small group of young athletes, led by coach Leslie Lucero (right), gathered the morning of Sept. 7 at Game Fit Dixon for the Girls Flag Football Elite Team Training Camp. Five girls tried out, including Lucero’s daughter Kawena (left). 

DIXON, CA (MPG) - A small group of young athletes gathered the morning of Sept. 7 at Game Fit Dixon for the Girls Flag Football Elite Team Training Camp, a skills evaluation session aimed at developing competitive all-girls teams in the Yolo and Solano county areas.

Hosted at 6248 Silveyville Road, the camp cost $60 and ran from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Sept. 7.

According to head coach Leslie Lucero, the first step in building this foundation is through exposing more young women to the sport.

“A lot of them have played softball, basketball and volleyball but may not know much about flag football,” Lucero said.

The session opened with warm-up stretches and explosive movement drills, including pogo hops, broad jumps and 40-yard dashes. Coach Leslie Lucero used cones to track personal records and worked individually with each athlete to make adjustments. Photo by Kendall Brown

Five athletes participated in the evaluation session, led by Lucero, a certified sports performance trainer and fascia stretch therapist with 15 years of experience.

Lucero trains athletes at Game Fit, owned by Lemuel Adams and located on property owned by the Sievers family. The session opened with warm-up stretches and explosive movement drills, including pogo hops, broad jumps and 40-yard dashes. Lucero used cones to track personal records and worked individually with each athlete to make adjustments. Lucero encouraged and challenged these athletes to improve their overall performance.

“That's alright. We get better every time,” Lucero said during the broad jump drills.

Lucero emphasized fundamentals throughout the session, particularly the importance of teaching proper running and jumping mechanics at a young age.

“That's why we do speed work with the girls, really focusing on basic mechanics,” said Lucero. “The boys receive that training early but many girls don’t get that until high school. If they don’t learn how to run and jump correctly, they have a higher chance of injury later in life.”

An hour into the evaluation, flags and footballs were introduced. The girls practiced catching drills and ran pulse routes, which involved sprinting straight and then cutting diagonally. The camp ended with L-drills and scrimmage-style flag runs.

Lucero’s long-term goal is to form 10U, middle school and high school girls' flag football teams to compete in regional tournaments. The fall season is expected to begin with the Under the Lights Tournament in Vacaville. With four children, three of whom are girls, Lucero is excited to bring more opportunities to play flag football for young girls throughout the county, especially as a female coach in a predominantly male-dominated space.

“Youth sports teach a foundation of teamwork, accountability and personal dedication,” Lucero said.

An hour into the evaluation, flags and footballs were introduced. The girls practiced catching drills and ran pulse routes, which involved sprinting straight and then cutting diagonally. Coach Leslie Lucero worked directly with athletes to get their throwing arms warmed up before the drills commenced Photo by Kendall Brown

One of the youngest participants, Lucero’s 6-year-old daughter, Kawena Lucero, was excited to play. Notably, her interest in flag football inspired Lucero to pursue this endeavor, as there were no girls' teams available for girls of Kawena’s age.

“I’m really excited to play,” Kawena Lucero said.

For more information about the program, visit lesmarieperformance.com or call 801-861-7674.