May 28, 2025 • 3 mins
Chris Fritzsching, Executive Director of Football Education for the Detroit Lions joins us to discuss community initiatives surrounding football - including girls flag football starting in high schools across the state.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Amazing when you dig in to the Detroit Lions, the
stuff that they do in the community will get to
girls flag football. But Chris Ritching is the executive director
of Football Education for the Lions. Thanks for doing this.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Today, appreciate you having me. Thank you start.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
With Touchdown in Your Town. I know the deadline is
coming up, I believe on Thursday, but this outreach is
amazing too.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, it's been neat. This is our seventh year of
conducting our Community Relations department conducting Touchdown in your Town.
We're accepting applications simply to provide support support for Michigan
high school football and cheer programs that are in need.
So football programs can apply for resources such as helmets
and practice equipment, uniforms. There's also grant funding for field renovations,
(00:44):
field amenities, bleachers, things of that nature. And same thing
that cheer programs can also apply for resources, uniforms, poms, equipment,
things of that nature. So we're really excited about the
continued growth of the Touchdown in your Town program. And
again those applicants, those schools for that matter, to apply
a rite at Detroit Lions dot com slash community and yes,
(01:04):
the deadline is this Thursday to twenty.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Ninth, Great resource Detroit Lions dot Com and then backslash
football hyphen Education to see what Chris and his team
are involved with. We've had them on for summer camps
and of course that season is starting up again for him.
He'll be traveling all over the state educating kids. And
we might get to that in a minute. But another
thing that has been an initiative for the NFL, and
remember last week, guys, I had the story about NFL players,
(01:28):
we are now allowed to as far as the league
owners play in the flag football. That's going to be
an actual, an Olympic event coming up in twenty twenty eight.
In La Well, they are wrapping up the third season
of girls high school football. They want to make this
an actual sanctioned sport by the NHSA, But right now
the Lions are running that and Chris is and Chris
tell everyone how many teams you have across the state.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Now this year, in the third year, we've had forty
one schools take place and then take part in our
spring season. Seven leagues. We've created as best we could geographically,
and it's been really neat to see the growth over
a course of the last three years. We had forty
four schools in twenty twenty three, twenty four schools last
year in twenty four, and now forty one in twenty five,
(02:10):
and it's only going to continue to grow as the
years go on. We're excited about that.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I tell you what, My daughter gets fired up because
next year she gets to participate in Byron Center's Powderpuff.
There's still one of those that play, and so I'm
telling you it's coming back. It used to be that
because of insurance and injuries, they wouldn't do it anymore.
And we really need help on the west side. You know,
Chris was telling me if we've got Saint Joe, Battle Creek,
Central Marshall kind of all to the south, but really
not a lot in the Grand Rapids and Miskegon area.
(02:36):
So Chris, if someone's listening right now and they want
to bring girls high school football to their school, how
do they do that?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
They we have an intent to participate form on our
website at Detroit Lions dot com slash girls Flag, and
you know, administrators, athletic directors, those that are interested in
bringing that opportunity to their girls and their high school
certainly can go to that form, and at the end
of every calendar year we make decisions as who's moving
forward with us in the spring of next year, twenty
(03:05):
twenty six. So again, Detroit Lions dot com, slash girls
flag fill out the intents to participate for him.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
The Executive Director of Football Education for the Detroit Lions,
Chris Fritching. Always great stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Thank you, thank you so much.
Amazing when you dig in to the Detroit Lions, the
stuff that they do in the community will get to
girls flag football. But Chris Ritching is the executive director
of Football Education for the Lions. Thanks for doing this.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Today, appreciate you having me. Thank you start.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
With Touchdown in Your Town. I know the deadline is
coming up, I believe on Thursday, but this outreach is
amazing too.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, it's been neat. This is our seventh year of
conducting our Community Relations department conducting Touchdown in your Town.
We're accepting applications simply to provide support support for Michigan
high school football and cheer programs that are in need.
So football programs can apply for resources such as helmets
and practice equipment, uniforms. There's also grant funding for field renovations,
(00:44):
field amenities, bleachers, things of that nature. And same thing
that cheer programs can also apply for resources, uniforms, poms, equipment,
things of that nature. So we're really excited about the
continued growth of the Touchdown in your Town program. And
again those applicants, those schools for that matter, to apply
a rite at Detroit Lions dot com slash community and yes,
(01:04):
the deadline is this Thursday to twenty.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Ninth, Great resource Detroit Lions dot Com and then backslash
football hyphen Education to see what Chris and his team
are involved with. We've had them on for summer camps
and of course that season is starting up again for him.
He'll be traveling all over the state educating kids. And
we might get to that in a minute. But another
thing that has been an initiative for the NFL, and
remember last week, guys, I had the story about NFL players,
(01:28):
we are now allowed to as far as the league
owners play in the flag football. That's going to be
an actual, an Olympic event coming up in twenty twenty eight.
In La Well, they are wrapping up the third season
of girls high school football. They want to make this
an actual sanctioned sport by the NHSA, But right now
the Lions are running that and Chris is and Chris
tell everyone how many teams you have across the state.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Now this year, in the third year, we've had forty
one schools take place and then take part in our
spring season. Seven leagues. We've created as best we could geographically,
and it's been really neat to see the growth over
a course of the last three years. We had forty
four schools in twenty twenty three, twenty four schools last
year in twenty four, and now forty one in twenty five,
(02:10):
and it's only going to continue to grow as the
years go on. We're excited about that.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I tell you what, My daughter gets fired up because
next year she gets to participate in Byron Center's Powderpuff.
There's still one of those that play, and so I'm
telling you it's coming back. It used to be that
because of insurance and injuries, they wouldn't do it anymore.
And we really need help on the west side. You know,
Chris was telling me if we've got Saint Joe, Battle Creek,
Central Marshall kind of all to the south, but really
not a lot in the Grand Rapids and Miskegon area.
(02:36):
So Chris, if someone's listening right now and they want
to bring girls high school football to their school, how
do they do that?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
They we have an intent to participate form on our
website at Detroit Lions dot com slash girls Flag, and
you know, administrators, athletic directors, those that are interested in
bringing that opportunity to their girls and their high school
certainly can go to that form, and at the end
of every calendar year we make decisions as who's moving
forward with us in the spring of next year, twenty
(03:05):
twenty six. So again, Detroit Lions dot com, slash girls
flag fill out the intents to participate for him.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
The Executive Director of Football Education for the Detroit Lions,
Chris Fritching. Always great stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Thank you, thank you so much.
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