2026 Fall Female Flag Football Training Program

This is a 10-week training block for female athletes ages 13 to 18 who want to play high-level flag football. It is a collaboration between WinSport and RAW Sports, delivered in partnership with Football Alberta, and it runs Mondays and Thursdays at the WinSport Performance Training Centre. The time is split between the two things that actually determine who makes teams: a real strength-and-conditioning base and flag-specific skill work. Athletes are tested on the first day and again on the last, so what changed over the ten weeks is measured rather than guessed at. This is the pilot year of a program the two organizations are building into a year-round pathway for female flag in Calgary.

What’s included

• ✓Nineteen coached sessions across ten weeks, Mondays and Thursdays
• ✓Eight combined sessions pairing flag skill work with the weight room
• ✓Nine strength and conditioning sessions
• ✓Full athletic testing on day one and again on the final day
• ✓A baseline and exit report your athlete keeps
• ✓Programming built as two progressive blocks, not a stack of unrelated workouts
• ✓Certified WinSport strength and conditioning coaches leading every weight room session
• ✓RAW flag development coaches leading every skill session in the gymnasium
• ✓A group capped at twenty athletes
• ✓First access to January registration when the winter block opens

Tested on day one. Tested on the last day. The difference is the product.

Your coaching staff

This program pairs two coaching groups, each doing the thing they are best at. Your athlete gets both every week.

How it works

Mondays run two hours, 5:00 to 7:00 PM. The first hour is in the gymnasium with the RAW flag coaches. The second hour moves to the weight room with the WinSport staff. Thursdays are ninety minutes in the weight room, 6:00 to 7:30 PM.

The strength work is programmed as two blocks. The first four weeks build strength tolerance, teaching technique before load is added. The next four move into strength and power. Athletes are progressed deliberately from a base rather than dropped into heavy training on week one, which matters when a group has mixed training age, and some athletes have never lifted before.

Be straight with your athlete about the commitment. Two evenings a week for ten weeks, in November and December, when it is cold and school is busy. The athletes who get the most out of this are the ones who show up consistently. Attendance is the variable that decides what the exit test looks like.

Who it’s for

Female athletes in grades 8-12 who want to pursue flag football seriously. That includes athletes who have never played a down and want a proper introduction to the sport, as well as athletes already competing at the school, club, or provincial and national levels.

Your athlete does not need to arrive in shape or have touched a flag field before. She needs to be willing to train twice a week for ten weeks and be coached.

What your athlete walks away with

A measured strength and speed profile, a working understanding of how to train, and the flag fundamentals that let her compete rather than catch up. She will also know how to warm up properly, lift safely, and read a program, which will carry into every season after this one.

The details

What happens after you register

From there it is two evenings a week through to December 21.

Questions parents ask

My daughter has never played flag football. Is this the wrong place to start?

It is the right place. The skill work is taught from the ground up, and a meaningful part of the group will be new to the sport. Roughly half the program is strength and conditioning, which requires no football background at all.

She has never lifted weights. Is that a problem?

No. The weight room is run by certified WinSport strength and conditioning coaches, and the first block is built around teaching technique before load. Beginners are taken through the movements from the start, and nobody gets loaded up before they have earned it.

Who is actually coaching her?

Both organizations. WinSport’s certified strength and conditioning staff run the weight room and the testing. RAW’s flag development coaches run the skill hour in the gymnasium. She gets both every Monday and the WinSport staff again on Thursday.

How much time does it take each week?

Three and a half hours on site, split across Monday and Thursday evenings. There is no homework between sessions.

What does she need to bring?

Training clothes, indoor training shoes, and a water bottle. Cleats are not needed. Equipment is provided.

What if she misses a session?

Tell a coach ahead of time, and she picks up where the group is at the next session. Programming is built to absorb the occasional miss. Consistent absence is what costs her the result on the exit test.

Does this connect to Football Alberta tryouts?

Football Alberta supports this program as a development opportunity for female flag athletes in this province, with the goal of strengthening how Alberta competes provincially and nationally as the sport grows. To be clear on the boundary, RAW is not involved in Football Alberta evaluation, tryout or selection processes, and registering has no bearing on provincial team consideration. What we have done is align the calendar and training focus with the provincial flag season so that athletes finishing this block are physically prepared for whatever they pursue in the new year.

What happens in January?

A winter block picks up where this one ends and runs into the spring, shifting to higher-output work as the competitive season approaches. Athletes who finish the fall block get first access to registration.

What grades is this for?

Grade 8 through 12. The group trains together, and coaching meets each athlete at her own level.

RAW Sports is not affiliated with Football Alberta evaluation, tryout or selection processes. This program is aligned with the provincial flag football calendar in timing and training focus.