Selected to participate in the Los Angeles Chargers Girls Flag All-Star game on Nov. 25 at SoFi Stadium, flag football player and senior Bianca Morrell played for the Orange County team. OC beat LA with a score of 22-20.
Morrell said she began flag football at Portola High because of her competitive spirit, the fun appeal of the sport, and inspiration from family members who play football. In addition to these factors, flag football was also appealing since it was a recent upcoming sport for women, according to Morrell. Thirty out of 400 athletes were chosen for the OC All-Star team by a group of CIF representatives, according to Morrell.
Participating in the flag football team at school and receiving advice from her father, who played football as a college athlete, contributed to the game’s experience, according to Morrell.
“Coach Primero and Coach Hamilton have done a really good job coachi
ng the team and getting their skill set and applying it to the game,” Morrell said. “Also, my dad helped out a lot too. [He] taught me the basics of flag football. He was a football player himself, played in college and everything, so he gave me insight. But all that teaching really did help, and it really transferred during the game.”
As a student-athlete, receiving constructive criticism is an essential part of growth. Morrell embraces the feedback and implements it, according to head flag football coach Julie Primero.
“Now she’s a D1 athlete, so you could give her any kind of constructive criticism, and she takes it into account and applies it,” Primero said. “She’s put in an insane amount of hours. She plays other sports, and then on top of that does private training. I think she really worked hard to earn it, and it’s well deserved.”
During practices, the OC All-Star teammates were looking forward to meeting new people and with a shared competitive spirit, according to Morrell. Morrell said that learning how to collaborate with other people is a life skill that was a takeaway from the game experience.
“She’s very competitive, but she’s also a great leader on and off the field,” freshman Ziya Zoya said. “She’s set a great example, especially for [new] people coming in, and she’s made the sport really fun and enjoyable. And, has been such a great leader.”
Morrell said that before the LA Chargers game took place, the OC All-Stars team held two practices on Nov. 21 and 23, respectively. Although the first practice was difficult since the athletes had only recently met, they were able to become more familiar with playing together, driven by the desire to win, according to Morrell.
“It just clicked during our session practice, and that really transferred onto the field during the game time,” Morrell said. “It was just amazing.”