Beginning this Spring, the New York Jets will sponsor a girls flag club travel team for high school aged players. In an effort to grow elite competition opportunities at the high school level, the Jets girls flag club travel team will enter local, regional and national flag football tournaments. The roster will be largely comprised of girls from New Jersey, and there are no costs or barriers to entry for athletes outside of travel. Both the roster and initial tournament schedule will be announced in April, with the goal of competing in one or two tournaments each month beginning this Spring. The Jets are just the third NFL team to support a team at the club level, joining the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers.
The mission is to grow elite level girls flag football in the region and provide pathways to college and the national team. The official name of the club team will be decided by the girls themselves once the final roster has been set. Team practices will be held at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, the Jets training facility in Florham Park, NJ. The team uniforms will be designed based off the Jets uniforms.
Ridgewood high school flag football coach, Mickey McDermott, will serve as the team's head coach. McDermott has led Ridgewood to back-to-back New Jersey State Championship victories (2023 & 2024). Under his watch, Ridgewood has suffered only three losses in program history, two in the regular season and only one postseason loss. They have reached the state semifinals in each of the past three seasons and have finished the regular season with an undefeated record in two of the past three years. Under his guidance, the Ridgewood girls flag team was named New Jersey's Flag Football Team of the Year in 2024.
