For these girls, that same excited energy that buzzed through them as they chatted with Falcons players is the same energy that courses through them when they talk about their teams and the opportunity they’ve been given to play the game of football.

Football, Kubi and Walker said, is the lifeblood of their high school. A lot of the energy from the school comes from the football team, Walker said.

“We saw that and we wanted to be a part of that,” she continued. “We wanted to have our own version.”

And when girls flag football was founded at their schools, they had it.

“I’d say it’s definitely empowering,” Kubi said of getting to play girls flag football at her school.

“It feels like we’re the trailblazers of this sport for our school,” Walker continued, “and we’re hopeful to spread it so that other girls have this opportunity because it’s just so awesome.”

And after a weekend in Seattle, that excited energy and drive to do exactly that won’t leave these girls for a long time.