Justin Jefferson's Youth Flag Camp Signals a Co-Ed Future for the Sport

When an NFL star spends his Saturday teaching seven-year-olds how to shuffle through an agility ladder, it says something about where this sport is headed — and who's playing it.

Minnesota Vikings All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson hosted his annual youth flag football camp on May 30 at TCO Stadium in Eagan, MN, running boys and girls through position drills alongside local high school, college, and YMCA coaches. Jefferson worked hands-on with campers at every station — including stopping to personally coach kids who were struggling with a drill — and partnered again with Hard Count Athletics, the organization that has run the camp with him since his rookie season.

The real headline: boys and girls, same field

What stood out most wasn't the drills — it was who showed up to run them. Jefferson said enrollment from girls has grown "bigger and bigger every single year," a shift from the all-boys youth football he grew up playing. "Now interacting with boys and girls together. This game is evolving," he told the Vikings' media team.

That's not a one-camp anecdote. It's the same pattern showing up across youth flag football nationally: co-ed rosters at the 8U and 10U level, girls-specific divisions branching off as participation climbs, and NFL teams increasingly treating flag camps as a pipeline investment rather than a one-off appearance.

What it means for local leagues

For organizers and parents scouting programs for the fall, Jefferson's camp is a useful signal, not just a highlight reel:

▸ Co-ed play at the youngest age groups is becoming the norm, not the exception — leagues that still default to boys-only should expect to hear about it from parents.

▸ Pro-affiliated camps are increasingly treating flag football as year-round development, not a summer novelty. Local leagues can borrow the same idea with clinics between seasons.

▸ Player experience matters as much as skill instruction. Jefferson said he models his approach on Ed Reed's camps, aiming to make sure — as he put it — "this could be their only opportunity in-person" with a pro. Volunteer coaches at the recreational level can take the same lesson: the memory matters more than the mechanics.

If your league is deciding how to structure fall divisions, this is a good moment to revisit whether co-ed play is on the table for your youngest age brackets, and whether your coaching staff is set up to give every kid that kind of individual attention.

Find or compare a league near you

Looking for a program that already plays co-ed or has a strong girls' division? Search Find a League to compare options near you, or browse the full league directory to see how programs in your area are structured. For more on where youth flag football is headed this season, check out the latest coverage on the Flag Football Finder blog.

Sources: Vikings.com — Justin Jefferson Provides Instruction at 2026 Youth Flag Football Camp