This profile is part of a year-long series called “I Am Mill Valley” that will showcase the talents, interests and achievements of the students and staff at Mill Valley.
Twice a week, senior Emily Summa makes the half hour drive to play flag football with her team through the National Football League’s program Girls Play Flag Football.
The program has teams for girls 5-18 years old. In Summa’s age division, there are six total teams to compete against in the seven week season. The games take place at Notre Dame de Sion High School each weekend of the season.
Summa first heard about the program two years ago and was immediately interested, even though she had never played flag football before.
“My dad and I used to play football together in the pool but I never played actual football,” Summa said.
She quickly fell in love with everything about the sport.
“I love pulling people’s flags and intercepting balls and catching the balls and everything,” Summa said. “It’s so fun.”
Summa’s coach, Derrick Hunter, believes that Summa is an asset to the team.
“I think she’s doing a phenomenal job of advocating for the sport,” Hunter said. “She’s a hell of an athlete. She plays aggressive, she plays tough and she’s intelligent. She understands the concept of the game.”
Beyond understanding the game, Summa believes that participating in a male-dominated sport makes her feel more confident.
“I feel powerful,” Summa said. “I feel like I can wrestle anybody and I can beat people up. I’m not scared of people.”
Hunter hopes that the female flag football continues to grow, so more young girls can feel like Summa does.
“She should continue to push it and advocate for [women’s sports] because she’s a good example of what we need when it comes to building female flag football,” Hunter said.
