Who is Anthony Washington Sr.?

Anthony Washington Sr. is a U.S. Army and Maryland Army National Guard veteran, a coach and official of more than twenty years, and the founder of After Today, LLC. He builds leadership training, athletic recruiting education, and people-first AI systems for student-athletes, families, schools, and organizations. He is based in Pennsylvania and works primarily across Pennsylvania and Maryland.

What does Anthony Washington Sr. do?

He works in three connected areas: athletic recruiting education that gives student-athletes and families a repeatable daily process, leadership training for first-time supervisors and public-sector leaders, and people-first AI and workflow implementation for organizations. He also speaks and runs workshops for schools, teams, and districts.

What is athletic recruiting infrastructure?

Athletic recruiting infrastructure is the repeatable system a family or program uses to manage recruiting — film, academics, communication with coaches, eligibility tracking, and follow-up — instead of relying on exposure events and luck. Anthony teaches recruiting as infrastructure so progress comes from a daily practice rather than a seasonal scramble.

What does people-first AI implementation mean?

People-first AI implementation means adopting AI to improve the work without displacing or sidelining the people who do it. In practice that means starting from the actual workflow, keeping a human accountable for decisions, training staff on the tools they will use, and setting guardrails before scale — not buying software and hoping the team adapts.

Who are Anthony's programs designed for?

Student-athletes and their parents, high school and grassroots coaches, athletic programs, schools and districts, first-time supervisors, public-sector leaders, and organizations that want leadership training or help implementing AI without leaving employees behind.

Does Anthony Washington Sr. provide leadership training?

Yes. He trains first-time supervisors and team leads on the first ninety days, difficult conversations, accountability, and building trust, drawing on his military service, public-sector supervision, and coaching experience. Training is delivered as courses, workshops, and organizational consulting.

How can a school, district, or organization work with Anthony?

Schools, districts, and organizations can book speaking engagements and workshops, bring in leadership training for supervisors and staff, or engage him on recruiting support and AI and workflow implementation. Start on the contact page and say which of those you need.

How can I book Anthony Washington Sr. to speak?

Send an inquiry through the contact page with your event date, audience, format, and location. The speaking page lists topics, session formats, and the audiences he speaks to most often.

Where is Anthony Washington Sr. based?

He is based in Pennsylvania and works primarily across Pennsylvania and Maryland, with virtual sessions available beyond that area.

Home › Blog › Girls Flag Football Has a Format Problem

Girls Flag Football Has a Format Problem

athletic · October 28, 2026

High school girls flag football is developing primarily around seven-player competition while international and Olympic flag football uses five-on-five.

Girls flag football is growing quickly, but growth does not automatically mean the pathway is aligned. Right now, an athlete can play one version of flag football in high school, another version in certain club or tournament environments, another version in college, and then encounter a different format if she pursues international or Olympic competition. Because when families are spending money on training, camps, travel teams, showcases, and recruiting exposure, they need to understand what game their athlete is actually preparing to play.

High School Is Seven Players, International Is Five

For the 2026-27 season, the National Federation of State High School Associations standardized its flag football rules so teams must begin games with seven players. Seven-on-seven changes spacing, personnel, defensive responsibilities, route combinations, and how coaches construct rosters. It also creates opportunities for more athletes to be on the field.

International competition follows the International Federation of American Football framework, which is primarily five-on-five. USA Football identifies IFAF rules as the official rules used for international competition, including the Olympics. The 2026 Nations Cup is being played five-on-five. USA Football's National Team selection process evaluates athletes through five-on-five drills and competition. When flag football makes its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028, the international game will follow that five-player format.

So an elite high school player could spend years becoming excellent inside a seven-player system and eventually pursue the highest international level of the sport under a five-player system.

College Currently Adds Another Layer

Women's flag football entered the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program in January 2026. Current NCAA programs are primarily competing seven-on-seven. When Division I established a future women's flag football roster limit of 25 athletes, the NCAA specifically noted that current college teams primarily compete in the seven-on-seven format.

The pathway can look like this: high school 7v7, college primarily 7v7, USA National Team 5v5, international competition 5v5, Olympics 5v5. The sport is growing and the pathway is developing, but the competitive formats are not fully aligned.

Seven Players and Five Players Are Not Just Two Fewer Bodies

Taking two players off the field changes the game. Space becomes different. Matchups become different. Versatility becomes more valuable. Defenders may have to cover more ground. Receivers may operate with more open space. Athletes who can perform multiple roles become increasingly useful. USA Football's own National Team selection criteria include positional versatility and knowledge of IFAF five-on-five rules. If the eventual goal is international competition, it is not enough simply to be outstanding within one version of flag football. You have to understand the game you are trying to reach.

This Can Become a Recruiting Problem

Families already struggle to understand college recruiting. Now add another layer. A parent hears "You need to attend this flag football camp." For what? What rules? What format? Who is evaluating? For high school development? College recruiting? National Team identification? A five-on-five athlete evaluation may emphasize something different from what a seven-on-seven high school coach needs. A college program may value something different from a national team evaluator.

Simply telling families "Get more exposure" is not enough. Exposure to whom? Playing what? Trying to demonstrate which skill? For which opportunity? That is recruiting intelligence. A family pursuing college flag football should understand the competitive structure used by the schools they are targeting. An athlete seriously pursuing USA Football's National Team pathway should understand five-on-five. An athlete simply trying to become a better high school player may have different priorities. Those are three different objectives and should not automatically produce the same development plan.

The Sport Needs a Pathway Map

Girls flag football is moving too quickly for families to be expected to figure all of this out on their own. The industry needs to make the pathway easier to understand. For each level—youth, high school, club, college, National Team, international competition, Olympics—athletes should be able to identify the competition format, roster size, field dimensions, major rule differences, positional expectations, recruiting or selection process, development priorities, and the organizations governing that opportunity. That is the kind of information families need before they start spending thousands of dollars chasing "exposure."

Recruit the Athlete for the Opportunity

We spend too much time asking how to get an athlete recruited. The better question is: recruited for what? What level? What roster? What rules? What position? What competitive format? What does that particular coach need? What does that athlete need to demonstrate? If the target changes, the development plan may need to change with it. That does not mean an athlete has to choose one pathway at 14 years old. It means somebody should be helping her understand that the pathways are different.

Growth Needs Alignment

Girls flag football is experiencing extraordinary momentum. NFHS is standardizing the high school game. The NCAA has added women's flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program. College programs are expanding. USA Football has a National Team pathway. The Olympics are coming in 2028. Those are significant developments. But rapid growth creates another responsibility: the pathway has to become easier to understand. Otherwise families will see one sport while unknowingly preparing for several versions of it.

Different competition structures can coexist. But athletes and families should understand the difference before deciding where to train, where to compete, where to spend money, and what opportunities to pursue. Because exposure without direction can become expensive. Training without a target can become inefficient. And development without understanding the destination can prepare an athlete extremely well for a version of the game she was never actually trying to reach.

Girls flag football does not simply need more opportunities. It needs a clearer map connecting those opportunities.

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