LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Valley students learned how to take care of their bodies and minds while having some fun Friday.
The Raiders and the UNLV School of Public Health hosted a flag football camp at the team’s headquarters in Henderson. It’s part of the RUSH program, or Raiders-UNLV Sports and Public Health. Two hundred students from three valley middle schools took part, learning about nutrition, mental health and physical health while also doing flag football drills.
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Organizers said the hope is to get girls interested in flag football, which is growing in popularity.
“Some colleges offer scholarships for girls to play flag football in college, like Nevada State College has scholarships for women’s flag football and flag football is going to be an Olympic event in 2028,” said Jennifer Pharr, director of RUSH. “So we’re trying to get them excited about it.”
Organizers said the program specifically targets middle school girls because that’s when they typically drop out of sports.
Pharr also said the event is an opportunity to talk to young girls about serious issues facing their age group.
“The reason that we also have a mental health and a nutrition component is because we know in junior high, girls are more likely to develop disordered eating and body image issues,” Pharr said. “And also since COVID, our junior high girls struggle a little bit more with mental health, anxiety and stress.”
The overall goal of the event is to get girls interested in sports in general.
“We know that sports just have so many positive benefits for girls,” said Pharr. “They learn things like cooperation, teamwork, resilience, and how to overcome adversity.”
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