WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The 2024 Olympic Games are just a few months away.
For some aspiring hopefuls, they are already thinking about the games in years to come.
Flag football will be ready for a global debut in the summer of 2028.
Growing up, many of us probably played flag football in gym class or recess.
Keiser University created a flag football team in 2021, allowing young women to play a childhood game at a higher level.
"We are extremely proud," Keiser University head coach Sam Harris said. "We all have big goals to achieve, and the work ethic that they put in is just amazing."
Among the hard workers is senior Kennedy Foster.
"I'm from Dwyer, and we have it in high school here," Foster said. "I always played soccer growing up, but once I got to high school, and I got the opportunity to play flag, I always wanted to play football. I took it."
Foster grew up in Palm Beach Gardens, playing travel flag football and is now one of the top flag football players in the country.
She credits her early beginnings for getting herself to this point.
"Growing up with my dad, I always played catch with him," Foster said.
Kennedy and one of her teammates, freshman Ashlea Klam, shared a similar story about how their family helped them pick up the game.
"I started playing flag football when I was around 7-years-old," Klam said. "I started because of my brother. He was always my role model growing up, and he still is. I always wanted to do what he did."
While Klam idolized her big brother, her competitive spirit made her aim to be better than he was.
Now, 12 years later, Klam gets the rare chance to wear USA across her chest.
"I actually started off playing USA football's national teams in 2022," Klam said. "Their first year in 2022, they created a 17 and under and 15 and under junior national team."
As a teenager, representing her country on a global stage was an honor she couldn't describe.
Two years later, Klam is one of the 18 finalists invited to try out for the U.S. women's flag football team in Finland this summer.
"It's a long process of practices, mental health and having to go through different battles," Klam said. It's all worth it in the end to be able to represent my country."
While Klam will get the opportunity of a lifetime this summer, she'll have a familiar face trying out with her.
"For me, it's just compartmentalizing it and kind of focusing on what's important right now," Foster said. "For the U.S. national team, we still have our meetings ... but right now, my end goal for the past four years has been to win a national championship at Keiser."
