The Steelers hosted a Girls Flag Football Jamboree on Sunday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, a free camp for girls in grades seven through 12.
The camp is part of an ongoing program the Steelers have to encourage young ladies to play flag football and to encourage schools in the region to sanction flag football as a sport.
There were over 70 girls participating in the camp, which included skill development and then breakout games.
"I always love it," said former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats, who was on hand to help with instruction and encourage the girls. "When you talk about young ladies in sports, when you get to the middle school and high school age, there aren't a lot of opportunities for young ladies to be encouraged to play football. For a lot of young ladies, they are very interested in football. Being that I have a teenage daughter myself, I get this conversation daily. She is interested. She wants to do football. Talk about football. Watch it. It's hard to find different avenues and areas for her to participate.
"Events like this gives her those opportunities so I am always excited to be a part of it. It's almost like being an ambassador for the game of football."
The event is part of a series the Steelers began to give the girls opportunities that aren't readily available to them, an avenue for their passion for football to shine.
"They know a lot. I am never surprised by it," said Moats. "When you look at some of these young ladies, they are eager to do this. They aren't just signing up haphazardly. They are passionate about it. They know what position they play. They know the ins and outs of it. They know stats and everything else. That is the part I am always impressed by. It's common. The young ladies here in Pittsburgh just love football."
The team also launched a program to encourage high schools to sanction girls flag football, which is the case in some states, but not Pennsylvania. The team helped with the local Girls Flag Football League, even hosting the championship games at Acrisure Stadium.
"I think it's extremely important," said Moats. "First, you are giving these young ladies another opportunity to be active. Second, it's also their voice, their passion, their comradery. I think of when I did a team sport in high school, the impact it had on me, on my social life, on my confidence and my ability to work well with others. When you give young ladies an opportunity like that, it will be more beneficial for them.
"I do think it is very important and that is why it's cool to be able to amplify these types of events, to talk about them more, get more eyes, to get more ladies, get more schools involved with this. That is why I am definitely on board with it."
