Isabella Turro, a junior at Shadow Ridge High School, is currently on the varsity team for the school’s Women’s Flag Football Team. She is excited to see where this season will take her as she is going to be playing during her senior year as well as hoping for a future career with this sport.
Turro has made it clear she wants a profession in flag football and has worked extremely hard over the years with many busy weekdays and weekends with different teams and practice/game schedules.
“I think that when I stepped onto the field for the first time, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in flag football, and ever since then, I have dedicated myself to the sport. In a couple years I can definitely picture myself going far and being able to play in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. I also want to play collegiate flag football as well. This sport has given me something to look forward to since I was in middle school and I cannot wait to see where it takes me,” comments Turro.
One of Turro’s biggest supporters throughout her sports career has been her family, but the one who showed her support for Turro’s decision in playing was her mom. She has influenced Turro to keep playing and show up even in the worst weather.
Turro states, “My mother has encouraged me to play football, and she always enjoyed seeing me play. I would say that I wanted to keep playing flag football because of my mom. It has also brought my family closer together as a whole. I think I also kept playing football because I wanted to motivate the teammates who were younger than me in the past, as well as currently.”
Turro started playing football when she was in the 7th grade and has progressively played more and more. She has been playing for Shadow’s school teams since she was a freshman. She has learned many things along the way while performing in this sport that she continues to use in her daily life.
“It has been five years since I started playing flag. In the seventh grade, I began playing, originally, simply for enjoyment. However, the more I knew about the game, the more I wanted to play since it inspired me to be a leader and it became more thrilling the more I played. It also gave me something to look forward to every day. Flag has influenced me in many ways both within and outside of the field. It has taught me discipline, helped me develop connections with a wide range of individuals, and taught me how to be resilient both mentally and physically,” mentions Turro.
Her coach, Mr. Nighswonger, is looking forward to the rest of the 2024-2025 football season as he believes that Turro is a strong player and can be useful on the field even with her struggles.
“Isabella is a very physical and strong player that brings different aspects to the team. Her blocking is excellent and I think strong girls are awesome for this sport. My advice to her is to keep working on staying positive on and off the field and to make sure she does what is best for the team as well as always having their backs no matter what,” comments Mr. Nighswonger.
