NFL FLAG's "Be the Story" Campaign Spotlights the Next Generation of Flag Football Stars
NFL FLAG's new 'Be the Story' campaign features six rising youth athletes worldwide, arriving weeks before the Nationals.
Every kid running routes at Saturday practice has a highlight-reel moment somewhere in their future — and this week, the NFL made that case on a global stage. NFL FLAG just launched "Be the Story," a new campaign spotlighting six rising youth and young-adult flag football athletes from five countries, arriving just three weeks before the sport's biggest event of the summer: the 2026 NFL FLAG Championships.
What's New
Created by Dentsu Creative, the campaign follows six athletes as they cut, juggle, and sprint through highlight-reel plays, each tagged with a phrase like "Be the threat" or "Be the future." It's one of the first campaigns to treat youth and college-age flag football talent like the stars they're becoming, rather than a farm system for tackle football.
Meet the Featured Athletes
▸ Ashlea Klam (USA) — four-time U.S. National Team member and 2026 NAIA Player of the Year
▸ Ryder Noche (USA) — 2024 NFL Flag Player of the Year
▸ Samaya Taylor Jenkins (USA) — Arizona Player of the Year
▸ Azul Trujillo (Mexico) — Mexico Jr. National Team
▸ Liz Lomu Stewart (Australia) — Australia Women's National Team
▸ Arved Mohr (Germany) — European champion with the German U15 National Team
Why It Matters for Local Leagues
Campaigns like this aren't just marketing — they're recruiting tools for every rec league, YMCA program, and Saturday-morning field you help run. When a kid can point to Ryder Noche or Ashlea Klam and say "that could be me," registration numbers tend to follow. It reinforces something local organizers already know: flag football now has a real, visible pathway from backyard scrimmage to national team to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The timing isn't an accident. "Be the Story" rolls out just as more than 350 U.S. teams and 12 international squads descend on Grand Park Sports Campus for the 2026 NFL FLAG Championships, July 23–26 in Westfield, Indiana. Admission is free with NFL OnePass registration, and games will air across ESPN, ABC, and NFL Network.
What This Means for Your Team
Whether your players are 8U or headed into high school, the message is the same one we hear from parents every season: flag football isn't a stepping stone anymore. It's a destination sport with a visible ladder — local league, regional tournament, Nationals, and now a global stage with Olympic stakes. If your team is chasing a Nationals berth this summer, or your league is still building toward one, there's no better moment to lean into that story.
Looking for a league near you, or curious who's headed to a tournament this season? Browse our league finder or check the tournament listings to see what's next for your team. Explore more leagues on our league directory, and catch up on other stories over on the blog.