The Oviedo girls Flag Football team is heading into their second season in the school’s history. Having met many goals last year, and even won the Seminole Athletic Conference as a team ending their season 7-2. The players hope to keep it up this year and go further into the district tournament.

“I want us to go undefeated in conference again and win the district championship,” senior Kiara Jimenez Fuentes said.

The team has come a long way from their first-ever season where at first they all started as just a group of girls trying a new sport, but now heading into this year they have grown to form a well-connected team.

“During the first practice last year, we were a bit lost because we were unfamiliar with the sport, and we didn’t know what to expect in our first season. This year we were sharp from the get-go and our mindset was fixated on winning every game. Even though we had a couple of new faces, they learned quickly and became comfortable in their positions. For returners, we knew exactly what to do and were ready to play,” Jimenez Fuentes said.

To prepare for this season they practice 4 times a week and work hard to get the results they want at the games.

“We start off practice with an active warmup and then separate into offense and defense to work on position-specific skills. The offense will run routes and work on their catches while the defense works on agility and flag-pulling. For the remainder of practice, offense and defense will go head-to-head in a scrimmage,” Jimenez Fuentes said.

Within these practices, the team shows that they don’t only want to win, but be able to create a bond with their teammate throughout the season.

“I’ve played soccer for 12 years, and every team I’ve been on was full of cliques, but as soon as I joined this team, I was embraced with open arms. We support each other wholeheartedly and want to see each other succeed, which is why I love this team so much,” Jimenez Fuentes said.

For these girls playing flag football is not just about playing the sport, but they also represent Oviedo. Many of these girls are in history as the first-ever girls Flag Football team at Oviedo, and they take great pride in representing their school.

“Representing Oviedo as the first flag football team is very inspiring and exciting because we created history at OHS and can pave the way for other female athletes wanting to try out the sport,” senior Lily Mccaslin said.

As they get prepared this preseason for their upcoming season they are not only physically preparing themselves but also mentally getting ready with some of these players being their last season playing for Oviedo High School.

“On the mental side, I’m trying to learn as much as I can about the corner position so I know what to do in games when faced with different situations,” Jimenez Fuentes said.

Many of these players in practice train on what they need to work on for this year. They have their personal goals they want to accomplish.

“I want to be more accurate in my throwing, and I do this by working with coach O throwing the ball around. I also want to be able to win SAC player of the year once again, and beat my stats from last year,” senior Ansley Devos said.

This year they face off against many teams that have had multiple years of playing flag football, but Oviedo is confident in their ability as a team to beat anyone.

“Boone is probably one of our biggest games being a team that coach O previously coached at for girls flag, and also we play Hagerty at home this year so we are excited for these games,” Devos said.

Many of the girls on the team are multi-sport athletes and after last year they learned that flag football is unlike any other sport.

“In this sport, you have to be very aggressive with every single play. Yes, every sport is aggressive, but with flag football, you must ensure you are prepared for every single play. It is a very quick sport so you have to be focused and aggressive every single play,” Devos said.

The team hopes to polish its strengths and improve its weaknesses this preseason so that it can accomplish its goal of being District champions this year.

“We’re a pretty strong team on both sides, but there’s always room for improvement. If anything, we could work on securing catches and extending our arm to gain extra yards,” Jimenez Fuentes said.