Team GB's transformed Jochebed Frimpong: "Flag football is where it's at"

"Our head coach put it in the group chat."

Jochebed Frimpong was responding to a question posed by Olympics.com about the moment she heard that flag football had officially been selected for LA28.

"I was like, this is crazy," said the Londoner who was on a panel for an NFL-hosted Women in (American) Football event that took place at Tottenham's iconic football ground, White Hart Lane, on 6 October.

"A lot of us play for The World Games, or the European Championships, but the Olympics is crazy. My teammates and I were just like," and here, the 20-year-old whispers: "'Guys, we could be in the Olympics'."

Several unintelligible sounds then follow as Frimpong tries to find words to express the moment.

Turns out, there aren't any, with Frimpong instead emulating a real-life mind-blowing emoji to conclude her thoughts.

She's right. It's a big moment for a sport that will make its Olympic debut on day one of Los Angeles 2028, on Saturday, 15 July.

The impact of the inclusion of the non-contact format of American Football is already being felt, not just in the UK, but around the world.

"It's in schools now," said Frimpong. "Kids are starting to see, okay, I don't have to play football or run track or another sport, there's another sport that I can also do in the Olympics."

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From after-school club to the Olympic Games?

By her own admission Frimpong, who was sat on stage wearing a European Championships gold medal around her neck, says she was "rubbish" when she first tried flag. But she had support from a number of corners, in both her on-field and off-field development.

One of those interventions came at an acknowledged tricky time for girls in sport, when Frimpong was 15.

The BIGKID Foundation, a charity that equips young people at risk of social exclusion and youth violence to take control of their lives, set up an after-school club at Frimpong's school, and that's where everything changed.

"I was very athletic, very sporty, but I was around that age where girls start to fall off when it comes to sport, and I was like, if this doesn't work out, I'll just stop playing sports, and just focus on my academics," Frimpong revealed in a video about flag football played in north London on a warm autumn day that also saw the girl's under-15 NFL Flag Championship Europe Final play out with GB seeing off Germany.

"I was very shy, didn't like being around other young people, and I think BIGKID really changed everything because they're a charity that really works with young people, and I took the opportunity of trying flag."

The initial stages didn't bode well.

"I had very bad hand-eye coordination," laughed Frimpong. "I was so bad, but I think what they do is they keep going, they keep pushing you, encouraging you, and that's something I was learning to do as well as a young person. I struggled with my emotions a lot, so showing up was helping me change as a young person and I just developed."

Having played the full-contact version of the sport, flag just resonated with the then teenager.

"I like contact, I like flag, but I think of the two, flag is just where it's at, you know, the community, the love... don't tell my warrior girls I said that!"

Mentored by flag football icon, Phoebe Schecter

Another opportune moment came when Frimpong was encouraged to go to a GB flag trial, and it was here another aspect of her journey developed when she met flag football pioneer, Phoebe Schecter.

"She's my roomie," smiled Frimpong of her fellow panellist and former Buffalo Bills coach, NFL analyst and GB flag football player. "We have the best conversations at tournaments, but being able to message her and be like, 'Phoebe, I'm struggling with this, or I need help with that, or I don't know what to do'... she's been a very big mentor and not just to me but to so many other young people and young women."

"Joch's not saying enough about herself here," smiled Schecter of the young woman she describes as like a younger sister. "This is her first time representing GB. She's trialled for a couple of years now and she just kept being resilient and really embodying what it means to be a GB athlete."

The dual US-UK citizen who is also sporting the gold medal bling won just the previous week and who is also eyeing LA28, whether on the team, as coach or broadcaster, continued: "She is an impact player. This is just the beginning for her. The 2028 Olympics, I mean, if that's your goal, the way that you're working, it's a no brainer."

Frimpong agrees that resilience is one of the attributes she's learned from her time in flag, to keep showing up.

Another is communication.

"I was so rubbish at communication. I was so bad. It was like I couldn't communicate with people. I would struggle to interact with young people the same age as me. Being around adults was daunting. But I think being around different people is so important because you learn something from each and every one.

"I'm 20 but I've learned so much from a 30-year-old, you know? The way they interact with people, the way they can understand how to see things in life, and I think also understanding that, like I mentioned in the video, why not you?

"A year ago, I would have never thought I'd be sitting here right now, and this is what the sport's done for me. I think also understanding that so many other young people can have this same opportunity, and how can I do that for them as well.

"There's always opportunities but you have to put yourself out there as well."

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