Inside Team USA Flag Football with Isabella Geraci & Nico Casares | Road to the Olympics

Summary

Stay Tranquilo – Inside Team USA Flag Football with Isabella Geraci & Nico Casares | Road to the Olympics

Date: March 19, 2026
Guests: Isabella “Izzy” Geraci (USA Women’s Flag Football), Nico Casares (USA Men’s Flag Football)
Host: Stay Tranquilo Network

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the explosive growth of flag football, its inclusion in the Olympics, and the journeys of two Team USA flag football athletes, Izzy and Nico. They share their personal stories, explain what it takes to compete at the highest level, discuss the evolving opportunities for both girls and boys, and reflect on the culture and future of the sport as it gains momentum globally. The tone is relaxed and genuine, focusing on mindset, opportunity, and gratitude.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Athlete Origins & Pathways to Team USA

• Izzy's Story:
  • Grew up in Cleveland playing tackle football from age 7-14, then switched to basketball, which she played through college ([01:21]).
  • “We didn't have flag for girls where I'm from… Next thing you know, I’m going to play for a gold medal in Finland in the flag football world championship. So this will be my third year on the team and it’s been so insane.” ([01:21])
• Nico's Story:
  • Played both tackle and flag football in growing up in Miami, in addition to soccer ([02:53]).
  • “Tackle coach at the time was also my flag coach… did both tackle and flag… Once we kind of did that flag kind of ages out for, like, people our age, especially men's... Stop playing flag competitively for about seven years... Once I finished tackle, got right back into it.” ([02:53])
• Basketball Crossover:
  • Noted how many women on Team USA come from basketball backgrounds, speaking to the crossover of athletics and new pathways for female athletes ([02:25]).

2. The Growth and Globalization of Flag Football

• Rapid Expansion:
  • The sport has seen a massive uptick in participation and infrastructure investment, including $30 million from the NFL ([00:44-02:06], [08:27]).
  • “It’s insane… It’s grown like that in the past, what, two, three years?” ([08:28], Izzy)
• Olympic Inclusion:
  • Both athletes express the emotional significance and pride of representing their country on an Olympic stage.
  • “Every time we put on the red, white and blue, it’s like you get chills kind of thinking about it.” ([00:18], [06:38], Izzy)
  • “There’s no bigger honor than representing your country… playing the sport you love that you never thought you’d have a shot at doing it before.” ([07:08], Nico)
• International Popularity:
  • Recognition that flag football is huge outside the U.S., especially in Mexico, and that Team USA members are treated as celebrities abroad.
    • “Like, when we go to Mexico… it’s like we’re legitimate celebrities.” ([09:02], Izzy)
    • “They have stadiums built for flag football there.” ([09:12], Nico)
• Women’s Participation:
  • The impact of flag football as a major sport for girls, with growing opportunities at the youth, collegiate, and (soon) professional levels. “It’s cool to see women playing football, and dads being like, I want to get my daughter into this.” ([09:15], Izzy)

3. Structure & Pathway to the Olympics

• Tournaments & Training:
  • Athletes participate in massive international tournaments (e.g., in Tampa with 1,000+ teams) ([13:07]).
  • The World Championship is every two years (last in Finland, next in Germany), with qualification requiring top finishes in continentals ([15:10-15:54]).
• Team Trials & Selection:
  • Making Team USA is an arduous, multi-stage process with combines, scrimmages, and several rounds of cuts from 60 to 18 to final 12 ([16:51]).
  • “You first of all have to get an invite to try out for the team. You can’t just show up.” ([16:51], Izzy)
  • Emphasis on being “coachable,” athletic ability, and ability to mesh and play both ways ([19:09], [19:13], Nico).
• Olympic Qualification:
  • Only six teams will compete at the Olympics, with three spots determined at the World Championships ([16:06-16:32]).

4. Daily Life, Training, and Balance

• Dual Lives:
  • Most athletes juggle work or school with their training; they’re not paid professionals ([33:32]).
  • “We have to be at that elite level of being an athlete. But everyone is like working jobs.” ([33:32], Izzy)
• Training Regimens:
  • Training includes five days/week of lifting, multiple days of speed and field work, plus regular accountability among teammates ([34:35], Izzy; [34:37], Nico).
  • “You battle the normal 9 to 5 life to then go and just work like more…” ([34:37], Nico)

5. The Joy of Competition & Team Camaraderie

• Highlights:
  • The joy of coming together as a team after long periods apart; many memories made traveling the world ([36:47]).
  • “The stuff they do for us behind the scenes... How much they care for us.” ([44:24], Nico)
  • “Just to be able to think that flag has taken us to places like that. Just super thankful… I’ve grown to have, like, family members now, sisters and stuff.” ([44:59], Izzy)
• Heated Rivalries:
  • The U.S. consistently clashes with Mexico and Canada, leading to intense, close games and growing excitement and skill levels globally ([43:08], Izzy and Nico).

6. The Game Mechanics and Evolution

• Formats:
  • Various divisions/formats: co-ed (with different gender constraints), skill levels, and on-field strategy ([13:45], [14:01], [38:28]).
• Skill Sets:
  • Behind-the-scenes on flag football “combine” and selection process ([18:17]).
  • “IQ” and coachability (especially key for positions like rusher) are as important as pure athleticism ([39:33], [40:04], Nico).
  • Strategies vary widely based on country and personnel; U.S. schemes tend to “dictate the game” rather than reacting ([41:25], Nico).

7. Advice & Perspective

• For Young Athletes:
  • “Stay with it… like you gotta train and prepare just like any other sport and let the wind take you.” ([45:45], Nico)
  • “Specifically two girls and boys, but like you’ll have a future in the sport… you truly have an opportunity of a lifetime ahead of you to be an Olympian and to play in college and earn a scholarship…” ([46:01], Izzy)
• Looking Back:
  • Both stress the value of memories, travel, and lifelong friendships as much as medals ([44:24], [44:59]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Every time we put on the red, white and blue, it’s like you get chills kind of thinking about it.” – Izzy ([00:18], [06:38])
• “There’s no bigger honor than representing your country. And to do it, playing the sport that you love, that you never thought you would have a shot at... is just an insane honor.” – Nico ([07:08])
• “It’s cool to see women playing football and, like, dads being like, I want to get my daughter into this. Like, you just never would have thought.” – Izzy ([09:15])
• “This year we’re on two year contracts, so we bypass the trials process... so you get a little bit more people for a longer time for sure.” – Izzy ([16:51])
• “We always say, we have a bunch of 99. We have a bunch of 90s. 95. 99. How is. As a 95, are you more coachable than the 99?” – Nico (on team selection, [19:13])
• “We have to be at that elite level of being an athlete. But everyone is like working jobs.” – Izzy ([33:32])
• “You battle the normal 9 to 5 life to then go and just work like more… this could consume you. And like, at the end of the day, it’s… your life.” – Nico ([34:37])
• “The stuff they do for us behind the scenes is really, like, coming to light. And it’s pretty awesome to see… how much they care for us.” – Nico ([44:24])
• “Just… super thankful. So like to look back and, and say like, I’ve grown to have like family members now, sisters…” – Izzy ([44:59])
• “The sport is growing at like an exponential rate and a lot of kids are getting into it… you truly have an opportunity of a lifetime ahead of you to be an Olympian and to play in college and earn a scholarship in the sport.” – Izzy ([46:01])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Beginning stories and sport backgrounds: [01:21 – 04:26]
• Women’s flag football growth & Olympic impact: [06:38 – 09:15]
• Global reach & Mexico’s flag football culture: [08:53 – 09:29]
• The future: college, Olympics, & opportunities: [11:00 – 12:48]
• Team USA selection and Olympic qualification process: [16:01 – 19:41]
• Training, off-season balance, and athlete lifestyle: [33:32 – 36:47]
• On-the-field tactics and teamwork: [37:24 – 41:25]
• Rivalries & memories: [43:01 – 44:59]
• Advice for youth and final reflections: [45:30 – 47:28]

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers a comprehensive view of the current and future state of flag football, especially as it enters the Olympic fold. Izzy and Nico share not just their achievements but the grind, the balance, and the immense joy that comes with representing their country and building a community through sport. The conversation is both inspirational and instructive, capturing the game’s impact on the individual, society, and the next generation of athletes.

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Useful For:
Anyone curious about the Olympic process for new sports, the lived experience of elite amateur athletes, or the meteoric rise of flag football as both a competitive and recreational outlet.

Transcript

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[Podcast Host]

But what does it mean to now play at like the biggest stage, this game?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Every time we put on the red, white and blue, it's like you get chills kind of thinking about it.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. All right.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

All right.

[Podcast Host]

Welcome back to another episode. We are back in the studio. Studio post super bowl connected with some awesome people while we were out there. We got team USA flag football, men's woman's. We got Nico, we got Izzy. How you guys feeling? We're here in Miami. Appreciate you guys for jumping on.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Appreciate you for having us.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. So Izzy and I got to connect. We. We recorded with your teammate Linnae and. Or Linnea. Right, Linnea. And it was really cool to kind of hear, you know, the state of flag football at this point and obviously the growth of the game. We were talking about it before the pod, right. $30 million invested by the NFL now into flag football. So we know how much growth is being pumped in to the sport. But before we get into any of that, I definitely want to tell your guys story. Tell us a little bit about how you got into flag football and how that's led you, you know, to where you are today. So whoever wants to kick it off.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, I mean I. I kind of always had like a love for football. I started playing at the age of seven, but I played tackle growing up, so it was a little different. We didn't have flag for girls where I'm from, which is up in Cleveland. So I grew up playing tackle till I was 14 and then gave it up to focus on basketball. Played that in college for five years and then found flag as soon as I got out. So in 24 and immediately got into it and kind of just got recruited for the national team almost right away. And everything just kind of happened very, very quickly. And next thing you know, I'm going to play for a gold medal in Finland in the flag football world championship. So this will be my third year on the team and it's been so insane.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

So grateful.

[Podcast Host]

It's interesting. I feel like a lot of people had. When we spoke to Linnea out there, she was a basketball player too. Is there. Is that like a common denominator, especially with like the females, like I would say, so play football maybe at some capacity when you're a kid, but then you end up gravitating to another sport. But because flag football has grown so much, it's brought that opportunity back.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yes, for sure. I think with our age, like, we're probably going to be on the higher end of, like, the ones coming from a different sport now. Now that flag is, like, in the youth, but, yeah, you see a lot of basketball players, a lot of soccer players. We have a few track athletes, but I think basketball just translates super well. I mean, even our quarterback, Vanita, she played at smu, so, like, you just see it all over. But it's cool to think that girls are going to have flag as, like, a primary sport now.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely, absolutely. How about you, Nico?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So I grew up like her, playing tackle. Playing flag, both. So my tackle coach at the time was also my flag coach. So worked out down in Miami.

[Podcast Host]

Where in Miami did you play?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So I played at Palmer Trinity.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, but how about, like, Little League? Like Little League, Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

I never played peewees, but I played at Gulliver for middle school, so I played three years at Gulliver, so played at Gulliver, was doing flag simultaneously. Simultaneously with travel soccer. So those three were the big ones. So travel, travel, flag, travel soccer, and then tackle gave up soccer kind of when I got more into football and whatnot, mom kind of pushed football a little bit too. So that was always good. So then when I got to high school, my first year, my freshman year, did both tackle and flag. We won the national championship for youth my last year. So that was our freshman year of high school. Once we kind of did that flag kind of ages out for, like, people our age, especially men's, like, now it's just big in, like, the women's high school game. Men's is not really that big. So stop playing flag for, like, competitively for, like, about seven years, to be honest with you. Like, I would do it occasionally with my friends here in Miami. Locally, I think we have a really good league here that runs like, local tournaments and whatnot. So did that and then played tackle all throughout college. Went to college at Catholic at Division 3 school in D.C. so did that. And then similar to her, once I finished, finished tackle, got right back into it. Went 24 first year, didn't make it. Was a reserve last year. Made it. So it's gonna be also my third year on the team.

[Podcast Host]

Nice. Oh, yeah. You bring up something interesting because that's the way I've always kind of seen especially, like, men's flag football. You play it up until pretty Much high school.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And then after that it's like it's pretty much irrelevant. Like if, if you're playing high school flag football, at least here, at least that's how it was here in South Florida. It's like, because you probably didn't make the high school football team and you're

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

just trying to like, you don't want contact, right?

[Podcast Host]

Or you don't want contact. Right. But it is crazy to see the evolution of it. Right. We were talking about people now, you know, even if it's just wreck, people are still playing it and they're pretty damn like competitive. I know. Especially like in high school now, like they have like those five on five flag football leagues, right?

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

That they put together a big one now for high school kids especially is like 7 on 17.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Like, I can't say enough about it. It's great for development for like receivers and DBs especially. But seven on seven's blown up. And I think that's also attributed to women's flag football growing, blowing up the men's, getting more publicity because of the stuff that's happened before, that type of stuff. So I just think overall they're seeing football's holistic view of supplementals helping out the game of tackle.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, no, absolutely. I. I also played flag football pretty much my whole life and that was what introduced me to the game of football. Right. Obviously, watch it on tv, you grow up watching your favorite team play. And I think that's where the fanhood begins. Right. But once you're out there, like actually playing and you're there with your friends and it's after school hours and you're just tossing the football around and then you start playing competitively, like, it definitely kicks like a different, I don't know, like, feel to it. Right. And then, then you get into tackle or whatever it is, like whatever other like rec sport that you play, I think there's something like, healthy, especially as a kid being in competitive sports. Right. It teaches you like, work ethic and discipline and all these great life skills that you can carry on with you forever. Now you have the luxury to play this game at a competitive level still and for your country, Right. Which is pretty astonishing when you, when you really like, look at it, right? And I'm sure you guys, you know, look at it. So I want to get your perspective on that, right. What is a game and something that obviously has provided so many skills and open so many doors for you, but what does it mean to now play at like the biggest stage this game,

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I mean, I think like a young kid growing up loving sports, like, you always dream of that. What? I mean, we're not Olympians yet, but, like, that's what you dream of representing for your country, the sport that you play. I just guess I never would have thought it'd be flag football. Like, growing up being in track and stuff like that, I was like, oh, that'd be so cool to be a track athlete in the Olympics. And then finding out that, like, football is going to be in it is just like the highest honor, honestly, as an athlete, every time we put on the red, white and blue, it's like you get chills kind of thinking about it.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Absolutely in the same light. Like, there's no bigger honor than representing your country. And to do it, playing the sport that you love, that you never thought you would have a shot at doing it before, like, with that sport, I guess, is just an insane honor. Especially when we go out of the country and these people, these little kids are running up to you, like, from these random, random countries. Not random, but random to, like, civilization. Right. Guatemala and these countries, and they're like, oh, my, my God, can you sign this? Blah, blah, blah. And flag football is so big around the world. That's amazing to see.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I mean, you brought it up, right? The Olympics, Right. One thing is where it's grown, I guess, domestically. Right. But to be able to now say, oh, my God, this game's going to go to the Olympics. Right? Like, how much does. Does that mean to you guys? Like, seeing how much the evolution of flag football. Because there's always, like, the debate of what sports should be in the Olympics, what sports maybe should not be in the Olympics. But there's been a very loud push as to why football and specifically flag football should be in there. And not only just on the male side, but on the female side, too, like, what. What do you. What do you see? Because, like, you mentioned, there's so many other countries, obviously. Right. It's not just a USA thing. Right. It's Guatemala, it's Mexico, it's pretty much everywhere. I forget. When we were talking about it in. In San Fran, it was a long list of countries that I'm like, holy cow.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

It's insane.

[Podcast Host]

Is that what it is?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Over 100.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I think it's something insane. Like, wow, you wouldn't think.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

And it's grown like that in the past, what, two, three years?

[Podcast Host]

Exactly. That's what it feels like. I mean, it's. It's a pretty significant boom. Like, A quick boom, which is. Which is insane. But I'm looking back now, like, thinking of, like, when I. I played at Kendall Boys and Girls Club was a, you know, small park down here, and it was. It was just, like. It was just a thought. Like, it was just something you did for fun, right? And here it is, like, now in the Olympics. Like, that's pretty damn epic.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Crazy. It's crazy to think about. And it's cool to know that, like, I think outside of America, it's almost gonna get bigger, like, than what we have. Like, yeah, it's huge here, but, like,

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

when we go to Mexico, like he

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

said, it's like we're like legitimate celebrities to them. Like, it's, like, their second biggest sport, I think, behind soccer.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

It is, like.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

It is so insane.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

They have stadiums built for flag football there.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

And, like, they have it in college. They've had it in colleges. So it's just, like, everyone wants to do it now, and it's so exciting. And I think specifically towards the women. It's cool to see women playing football and, like, dads being like, I want to get my daughter into this. Like, you just never would have thought.

[Podcast Host]

I saw a video the other day on Instagram, and it was like, she was an older lady. I forget what they called her. Like, Thea something or something like that, you know? Is he from Mexico? I didn't know where she was from, but, dude, she was flinging it.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, she can move. She was flinging it. But it's cool, right? It provides an opportunity to open the door to so many new, like, sports, right? I mean, it was. It was basketball. It was track and field, right? And if you didn't play tackle football, like, that was the end of football.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

You're done. You're done. After college, you're done. If you didn't.

[Podcast Host]

If.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

If you didn't go pursue a cfl, a Mexico, if you. Right to me at the end, the top one. 1% of the 1 of the 1% make the NFL. So it's like you had to go play in Europe or you got to go play in Canada or stuff like that. And this gives you another avenue on the men's side. And, Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

In the women's game. It's only going to get bigger the more it gets into college. That's going to be the next big.

[Podcast Host]

That was going to be. My next question is the future that right. Getting flag football into colleges.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yes.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

It's already into like niai.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So there's a couple schools, the most closest to us. I know there's St. Thomas. I don't know how good they are. Not to disrespect them or anything, but I know Kaiser up in Palm beach. They've made the national championship three, four years. Four years.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Against Ottawa.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Against Ottawa four years in a row. But they're big.

[Podcast Host]

So they've made it, but they've lost.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

We have friends on the team and whatnot. And they're great. Someone, a girl on the national team is actually on it too on their football team.

[Podcast Host]

Gotcha.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

And they had two before. Yeah. But it's big. It's, it's, it's getting giant, especially down here. There's a big women's flag football scene down here. Girls, I should say not one girls flag football scene down here. So it's, it's great to see just the sport keep on expanding in that.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. And how have you seen like pro athletes kind of gravitate to the sport? Right. Especially obviously like the NFL guys or if Pro bowl has kind of evolved into a flag football game. But what, what has that kind of feel been like? Obviously because you guys are doing your thing. NFL is doing their thing. But the NFL is clearly investing into, into you guys. Right. So how have you seen maybe players kind of gravitate to it and what's like the sentiment out there?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I think it's, it's cool to know that they're like backing the sport 100% and I love to hear like when we were in San Fran on the sideline for like Toyota did a glow up game with the girls in the area and like to have some of the NFL guys on the sideline like trying to learn the flag plays and stuff like that. It's cool to see the exposure to the game. And then like you said, the Pro bowl runs a flag game. So. So it's just really exciting. And I think the only thing that we just want to see is like, flag being represented like that. And so it just keeps getting that light shined on it that it deserves. So it's just super exciting that we have the backing.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, absolutely. What. I guess, like, what's the. The next couple years look like for you? Obviously, Olympics coming up in the two years. So between now and then, is it playing in tournaments? Is it really more focused on training? Like, what. What is that. That path look like?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So right now we would be considered in our off season.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Our offseason is probably a month, to be honest with you. Probably two months. Realistically from. So we both play on like club teams individually. So there's a massive tournament in Tampa every year in January. And you play massive. There's really a thousand plus teams. Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And all us are from like all over the world. Okay.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

People come in from every. Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

New Mexico, Canada, China, France, everything. Australia, everything. So that kind of either the way you look at it, either kicks off or concludes the year. So we just finished that. We both did pretty well, to say the least. So can't complain about that.

[Podcast Host]

What does that mean? Like, you won. So I mean, how do you even. How does a 1500 team tournament even work?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So there's a bunch of different, like, divisions. Like, it's like pro, comp, rec, amateur, not whatever. They just break it down that way and.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Skill level.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, skill level. And then you could play in so many different formats. Like you can play in 4 on 4, 5 on 5, 5 on 5, with adjusted rule, sets, etc, co Ed.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

So like we played together.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, we did two divisions of co Ed together.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So that was good. One one, lost one, lost one the ship.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So yeah, so that's how like every. And you play like, I played 31 games, she probably played 45. Yeah. So.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

So insane.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So you may regret it.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I may regret it.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So you play a bunch of different divisions and you have a blast. Because that's like a little different than the national team. It's like you play like with your team and. And you're just like, you're bonded with those people just how you are on the national team. Right. Because we, we just don't get as much time as we do with those people.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So it's. It's awesome to get together at least for that one tournament. And like, we all do that. So that like, kind of Concludes the year, I would say. And then you have two months to gear up. And then we go to training camp in April and then from April to August we are pretty much in USA season. So it'll be just like focused on USA and we go. If everything goes according to plan, August 9th, if so be it that we both make the team. It'll be August 9th through the 18th.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Something like that.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Something like that is in Germany. So the World Championships are in Germany this year.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

So the. So 2024 was when we played in Finland. Same tournament. It's rerunning now in Germany.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. So it's every two years. Like you know how like the, like the World cup four. We do every two.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. So we're every two. So in your gap year where it's like in between World championships here, there's continentals. So last year we went to Panama, did continentals there. Asia did it in China. Yeah. And then Europe did France and Australia.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Oh no, they were part of it.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

They were Asia Ocean.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Africa has it.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Africa. Yeah. I think it's in Nigeria for Africa. So. So everyone has to compete for a bid for World Championships. You have to place top five.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So this here's the World Championships.

[Podcast Host]

Got it. And then based off of that, that's how the qualifying of the Olympics will begin, Correct?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. And how many teams, do you know how many teams will be qualified for Olympics?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So it's total of six.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

It's six.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

We have an auto bid.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

For being right cuz ho city.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So take us away.

[Podcast Host]

So five other teams.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So five other teams. And then I think three of the bids come from World Championships. So there's going to be two bids left coming out of World Championships.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I think that's right.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. Damn. Yeah. So that, that and the world from 12 to 10. So that's a big cut. Olympics, that's a big cup. People don't realize.

[Podcast Host]

Interesting.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. So we go from six, we go from 60. Well, this year is going to be 48. We go from 48 to 24. 24 to 18. 18 to 12.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. Wow.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, that's.

[Podcast Host]

That's cutthroat. And to make, to make it into that top 24. Right. To start. How does that process look like? Like how do you even make it into. Into the team?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

So this year's a little different. Our first year it was. You first of all have to get an invite to try out for the team. You can't just show up. So 60 people, men and women, get invited to try out. And at Tryouts, you find out whether or I guess a little later you find out whether or not you're going to be on the 18 roster. Then you come to the first training camp and then they cut it one more time to 12. This year we're on two year contracts, so we bypass the trials process. They're going to do that in what, March? They're going to do that in March. So they'll have a selection of 48 people and then same thing, they'll just cut it down to 24 instead. And so then we'll take that 24 to training camp, work with them, see scout team, like, see what the coaches want to see, have more matchups, then see the 18 and then to the 12. So it's just like, yeah, you get a little bit more people for a longer time for sure.

[Podcast Host]

And I mean, that's how you're gonna vet obviously having the best 12 on the field at the end of the day. Right. Like when I feel like that changes the dynamic. Right. You're going to the Olympics, like.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Got to make sure you got the best.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

10 or 12.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

And each cut gets harder and harder. Yeah, like that, that. I always said it, the 16, 18 cut was hard, but that 18 or 12 cuts.

[Podcast Host]

So slow throat.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Like they're looking at big one, everything.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. So what, what, so what do they look at? Right. Like, what is the skill set? Like, is. Is there a 40, like 40 time or you know, what, what does that look like?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

In the past, we. I'll just go from six. I'll do what we do for the six.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Because the 60 kind of mirrors 18. I would say that, but it's the same. We do the same things. So we go, we have a combine the second we get there. They're not the second. The first, first day is like mint. Yeah. The first day is like intros and like, like orientation. Like any orientation. Like first day of training camp type of stuff. Okay. Then the second day is combine. So four Ds, broad jump, that type of stuff. So obviously there's like a testing numbers. Right. But then the big part is on the field stuff. So we probably scrimmage for about two days and we just go at it.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Like different matchups, different looks.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. And the coaches will randomize teams on the men's side. We've done like drafts in the past. Like, the cubes will get together because we have about six, eight cubees that go every year. So we'll get together and we'll draft teams based on like the players and what else? We make a phone, we get a little tournament then day. So it's just about like, how do you mesh with the team? Can you go both ways?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Are you coachable?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Are you coachable? That's a big one.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

It's huge. Yourself.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

We always say, we have a bunch of 99. We have a bunch of 90s. 95. 99. How is. As a 95, are you more coachable than the 99? So it's a big thing for us. And that's a bunch of things that the coaches are looking at. And they do a great job with our selection process. We've won gold every year. They've medaled every year and won gold numerous times. So they do a great job.

[Podcast Host]

That's awesome. That's awesome. It's great. It's great to see, you know, obviously, that they take this seriously, like, and that there is, like, a process that goes.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

And there's a big panel, like.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And I'm sure the demand now is higher than ever, obviously, to, like, try to, you know, be at this level. Right. Everyone probably is like, oh, I could do that. Right. But it's like, it really is not that easy.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. And we've seen that, like, there you are.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. Hold up. I thought I heard him coming in there. I'm like, it could get really loud real quick.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Oh, my God.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah, he can get really loud in there sometimes. I'm like, dude, what is he doing?

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

This is like his personal storage unit. So we actually get, like, toilet paper.

[Podcast Host]

No, he's getting the car for sure.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

He parks his cars there.

[Podcast Host]

So he's got a Porsche in there. Oh, yeah. And the weather's nice. So he's like, I'm bringing it out today.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Just look at him.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

Yeah, he's out of town.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

That's sick.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

The professional cycling.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Right.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

He's like. I don't think he's been out, like, training. So he.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

That's sick, though.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Wow.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

He's an interesting guy, too.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

He's like a germ guy, too.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So if you're shakers. If you're training cycling, you have to.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Be.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, for sure. A little. A little different.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. To be political.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

We'll get into. I forget what was the last thing that we.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

We were on the trials. Process.

[Podcast Host]

Trials process.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Selection.

[Podcast Host]

I want to talk about, like, Or's been like, some of the coolest places that you've played.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, no, we're getting bro. This flowing. Awesome.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. And then since you guys Played together. I want to talk about that a little bit. Like, that dynamic. And then we'll get into like some fun questions. Like on the field, How long are you here too?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I leave tonight.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, you leave tonight?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I was freaking out because apparently TSA pre check was gonna get shut down, but it didn't.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. And you know that airport would have been. I was freaking out.

[Podcast Host]

I saw that. And I'm like, dude, if I was flying while this was happening, I would be panicking.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I'm like, I rely so hard on it makes my experience so much better.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

20 minutes before I got so bad here, like, I thought about her going through the deep Concord. I'm like, yeah, it's gonna be two hours.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Thank God. Thank God. He's not. Oh yeah, he's just running.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

I let you take the NFL car question.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I answered well.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, you guys are really well. I was just like, I'm not answering that.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Don't need another. Who?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, I don't need another.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

What's that?

[Podcast Host]

It's a car. He has a Porsche in there.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I see.

[Podcast Host]

So we're waiting for him to take the Porsche out.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

So this is actually two units and they put drywall. Like all the other walls are like concrete all the way around. So this is drywall. So like.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So it goes right through. Yeah, of course.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

Even if he's walking around in there. And like, even when we bought this place was completely empty. Like I can be whispering in this corner like the echo in here is crazy. Cuz you have the.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I. You guys use soundproofing like, you guys, that's for. For. For sound.

[Podcast Host]

This is all. This is all soundproofing too. This wall back here, these are all soundproofing panels.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

That egg crate that you see back there, did you see what happened in Switzerland when the whole thing went on fire?

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

What?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

So what happened was.

[Podcast Host]

That's great.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

That material. And then they. They lifted one of the. You know how they have sparklers in those? Oh, I did see that. I did see that. And 45 people.

[Podcast Host]

All right. No sparklers in here.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I saw that over here, so.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, I saw that. A bunch of kids too. Like. Like younger people.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I mean, it does look like it's pretty damn flammable. That.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

Taking it out.

[Podcast Host]

That's not safe.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Open up the window.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, you saw that. Who was it? The NFL guy? 25 year old kid that he. That he passed away, that he committed. Yeah, yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

More crazy.

[Podcast Host]

Terrible.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

He was good.

[Podcast Host]

I know, I know. Fourth round draft pick this Hollywood Brown who We had interviewed while we were out there. He actually shared a screenshot of him replying to a story like two hours before it happened. And the. Let me see if I could find the story. The story was like, about how like, like athlete happiness and like that.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Right?

[Podcast Host]

And he replied to it. Huh. Huh. Hollywood Brown posted a story and this guy, Ron. What's his name? Rondo Moore. Yeah. Had replied to it like two hours before the. The news broke. Let me see

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

what clicks.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Oh, yeah, look, he was gross.

[Podcast Host]

So he, he posted this story

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

like

[Podcast Host]

basically saying, like, you know, just because we have money doesn't mean we don't have problems. And like, we don't go through things. And then the next story is him show showcasing a screenshot of him replying to that story. And he's like, he put something like, yeah, this guy that he plays in the NFL that he's friends with him. He. He posted a story basically saying, like, people assume that because we're, you know, athletes and have money that we don't have problems. And Rondell Moore replied to the story two hours before and Hollywood Brown posted the screenshot of him like replying to. And he's like. And basically said, bro, you should have called me. Because he.

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[Podcast Host]

He had just posted something about that. Yeah, of course. No, at that point you're unfortunately too deep into it.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

Obviously people from down here like, the best was who? Sam Bruce.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Two two out, Will. Oh, that I've seen in my lifetime against him, bro.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

I heard Sam Bruce was like insanely good.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

At St. Thomas. But I just vividly remember, like, so

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

Two Two was a quarterback.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. So that's what I'm saying. So when they were 4th and 20, they were on QB draw. Like, it was stupid. Yeah, dude, he was insane. And he had a cannon though, when he threw it here.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

Because I was, I was on the team.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

I remember he told me you guys lost 2413, right? 2413. Yeah. Devin Bush, Stanford Samuel. He said that's the best player he's

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

ever played against right now. Like, it's right now one of the best, like weeks at linebackers in the league. Josh is the captain of the Vikings.

[Podcast Host]

Yep.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Kato Nelson was quarterback. Stanford Samuel K. Stanford Samuels. That's crazy, bro. And you guys Had a good team too. Ross was. Ross was a Dade county player of the year. But Nick sucked. Nick was terrible. Those neck.

[Podcast Host]

No, not. Not Hernandez. Columbus.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So what year are you in?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Columbus?

[Podcast Host]

Thirteen.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

You're. My cousin's here.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Do you know Michael Pino?

[Podcast Host]

Michael Pino, like, he played baseball? Yeah, yeah, it's like one of my guys that I grew up. That's your cousin?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Best friend. That's my cousin.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, your cousin's best friend.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Alex V is my cousin.

[Podcast Host]

You're lying. What? I've known Alex since I was like five years old.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

He knows Alex and Pino. Alex Villas and Pino.

[Podcast Host]

I grew up. They're like, those are my best friends growing up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was just with them. Like you, like two weeks ago at your birthday. They were there. Remember Michael Pino and Alex Vias from St. Thomas, Cleveland, Ohio. Cuz we all went to St. Thomas together.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, so. So Alex is so different. Is my. The sister. Older sister.

[Podcast Host]

I definitely met you before then. For sure. Phil, Roger. Dude, those are. Were my best. Best friends growing up. Max I met in Columbus.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

He's the weirdo.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly. Yeah, he's the one. Like, why is Max part of this group?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, but those three are connected.

[Podcast Host]

Yes. Everything but I would. Dude, Phil, Max, Alex were the guys that I think pretty much until like senior year of high school. Yeah, I didn't hang out with anymore. But I mean, we're still like super tight. You know, just life happens and everybody goes on their way. But literally I ran into Alex three weeks ago and I hadn't seen him in a while, especially Alex had moved out and now he's living up in West Palm.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I mean, hard.

[Podcast Host]

But dude, I was at Alex V's house every Friday playing basketball on the little half.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So you know my.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, of course.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

He's always like, nancy, I'm so sorry for you, bro.

[Podcast Host]

I know. Well, I actually. I have a. I have a crazy story, Ma.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

He has a crazy story.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I'm sure that was my downfall.

[Podcast Host]

I was like, no, not bad, not bad. It was just something that happened at her house that she got super pissed at us. Yeah, he.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, for sure.

[Podcast Host]

I was. I was at their house like every Friday after school in middle school, playing basketball.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, I've definitely been like, for.

[Podcast Host]

I was gonna say you probably. We would get heated. Yeah, Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I mean, they're.

[Podcast Host]

I don't know if you ever met Iggy Pigno. Yeah, of course. Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

So it was me, Iggy, Pino, and probably Phil, and we were all playing basketball on the half court. And you know how he lives on that little corner there in Pine Crest.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

They lost.

[Podcast Host]

He had these. Those red rocks next to the side. Of course, big bro Iggy just starts launching them over the fence. And Miami. There's, like, a decent amount of car traffic. So he would throw, and we would wait to hear. We would hear anything. We'd hear the Hit the road.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Sure. We throw, and then they lost again.

[Podcast Host]

Hit the road. Then one time, he throws them up.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Go into the World Series.

[Podcast Host]

We hear glass shatter, breaks money gap. And we're like, oh, my. We sprint inside. We're there hiding inside the house for, like, 20 minutes.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

He's a Cleveland guy now.

[Podcast Host]

Knock on the door. So we go back outside. We're playing on the basketball court. Nancy comes out. I am screaming at us, but I just love it. Like, all my family's screaming at us,

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

and it's nice to be able to see them.

[Podcast Host]

We just look at it.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I'm literally traveling.

[Podcast Host]

Ignacio, what the hell did you do?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

What's up?

[Podcast Host]

Cops are here saying that they got hit by a rock on the car. I'm like, oh, my.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

It is up there.

[Podcast Host]

Now that I've, like, really got started, like, lecturing. We were, like, 11 years old. 12 years old, maybe.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

But, yeah, man, that's funny.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, it's my, like, literal flood. Cuban.

[Podcast Host]

So your mom and Nancy are sisters, so.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

My mom's born 64, Nancy's 62.

[Podcast Host]

Nice. Yeah. That's crazy.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

That's not bad.

[Podcast Host]

That's awesome.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

That's nice.

[Podcast Host]

A good family, bro. Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Wow. I was on my bingo card today.

[Podcast Host]

I know. I know. He said Pino. I'm like, maybe there's. I know, like, two Michael Pino. So maybe it's not that one. And then you said Alex Vias, and I'm like, holy. That's crazy. That's funny as heck. Good.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

It's a small world.

[Podcast Host]

Insane.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

Of, like, what they look at.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll say, like, it's great to see how much they respect the process of, like, building these teams, and then we'll get into the. Into the next stuff. It's great to see, obviously, the process that they've put in place to build the best teams. Right. For Team usa And I'm sure, obviously, these processes carry across other countries and stuff like that. But you've talked about how much success already early on USA Football has had on both sides. Right. And I think, obviously, it's usa. We take pride in everything that we do, and we're going to do it well. Just like today, Team usa, you know, wins in both men's hockey and then the other day in women's hockey. So it's obviously like when we do things, we do them well and we do them right. Like for you guys now you preparing for the Olympics obviously talk about this process. How much like work do you guys like do on a daily basis? Like what does that process look like? Obviously training by like the skill set wise.

[Studio Assistant/Producer]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

Because you are. It is com. It's the com. It's the competitive aspect of like knowing you have the chance to represent yourself and the country but also knowing like you still have to fight for that spot. Yeah. 150. By the way, there's probably a million other people that want to be in your guys shoes. Right. So tell me about like that mindset and that process for you guys.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I think the, the weird thing right now with flag football is like we have to be at that elite level of being an athlete. But everyone is like working jobs.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Luckily like personally for me, I'm in a really good spot because I can, you know, I work for my family so I can go to work or call off work whenever I need to because of flag. But outside of that, like it's trying to balance all of that on top of like trying to train at your peak levels. So I mean we. Not anymore but we all have like a workout plan through USA Football. So we have a trainer through the Olympic Performance center. He gives out workouts. So we kind of hold each other accountable because everyone's all over the country and we don't get to train together all the time. So it's just holding each other accountable and having that like discipline at the highest level, honestly. And I'd say probably training, lifting five times a week, speed training two to three times a week on the field two to three times a week. And then you know, dealing with life stuff and having a job and things like that. So I mean I think everybody's honestly training non stop.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

You said we have an off season,

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

but like there really isn't an off season. I mean she's right 100%. And the biggest thing is like you battle the normal 9 to 5 life to then go and just work like more. I guess it's, it's definitely the same mentality as like a college life to me at least in the sense that like where you're replacing a 9 to 5 with WAS classes. Yeah. So it's the same thing. Like you got to get your work in and I would say same thing as her is just like five days a week lifting and then like three days a week throwing for me since I play quarterback. Right. But it's definitely a balance. You need to have a good balance of it because at the same time that this could consume you. And, like, at the end of the day, it's your. We're 25 years old. Like, it's like, it's the number one priority, don't get me wrong. But for sure, nine to five, life is just as big a paycheck doesn't come in and. And living your life like there's so much to do in this world is great. It's a great thing to just be able to explore the world through flag football. So, yeah, it's. Finding a happy balance for sure thing.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. And you guys said it best, right? Like, it's. It's that perspective that as much passion and work that you put into it, you know, life is still going on behind the scenes, right? And a lot of people, I don't think, see that. Right. It doesn't matter what level of an athlete you are. It's. It's the. The time and effort and energy that you put on, but realizing, like, you guys are human at the end of the day and have. Have your everyday lives and need to take care of you. Right? But I think also what comes with this, right, is the platform that this gives you guys, right? Like, you talked about some of the places that you get to play and the people that you get to meet, right? Like, that in itself, right? I'm sure if you could look back at this, you know, 10 years from now and be like, damn, that was a sick experience. So for you guys, like, that's got to be such a cool thing, right? And all the grand scheme of it, right? Winning, being competitive and all these things are important, but it's the opportunity of, like, what USA flag football does give to you, right? And. And will continue to give to you, obviously, and in two years from now, you know, obviously hoping that you guys get there and. And all that. But it is pretty astonishing, obviously, to see, like, that. And I'm sure, like, you mentioned, like, you guys don't get to train together, right? So, like, that feeling when the team comes together has got to be such, like, yeah, like, what's up? Like, how you been? You know?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. And they do a good job of it. And this year they're making more of an emphasis on it, like, getting more training camps in, which is awesome. Like, yeah, like, we started the Process usually of the 18 later on. Usually. And this year we're starting in April. So that's why I said, like, the off season is a month. Because the only month we have nothing for USA is February. That's it. And then after that it's March to August. We have stuff for usa, so that's why I said a month, to be honest with you. And it's awesome. Like, the fact that we get X amount more training camps this year is just going to enhance the product of itself, for sure.

[Podcast Host]

I mean, for you, like quarterback, timing is everything. So, like, you got to work with the guys to make sure timing's down. And then I forget what position I play.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Receiver.

[Podcast Host]

So secondary would be. So do you guys have any sort of like, timing? Like, I know you guys have played together before, but you're ever throwing routes?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

No.

[Podcast Host]

Tampa.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

First time playing together. Yeah, it went well, like I said it did. Yeah, it went really well. Yeah. Yeah. I lost my touchdown in the championship game of the other one.

[Podcast Host]

Any touchdown catches from him or not a lot?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, yeah, it went well.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

It went really well. And it's fun. I mean, it's also good because, like, not only her, but, like, other USA girls, like, played. So there's two different types of coed. So there's one co ed where it's guys and girls. There's three guys on field, two girls. So it was her and another USA girl, which, funny enough, my coach growing up was like a mentor father figure to me when he moved out to Vegas, coached her for like five years. So it's pretty cool, like, playing with her too. So them two. And then we have another girl, Linnea actually was also on our team. So it was the three of us, and that are the four of us. And then the other version of co ed is one quarterback, one male on the field, which is quarterback. Quarterback.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

And then four girls.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

So.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

And that was the whole USA team.

[Podcast Host]

And then how's defense work?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

One male rusher and then four girls covering the four girls.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Or you could take the male rusher out and put five girls and then those five girls are covering the four girls. But you can't rush.

[Podcast Host]

Got you. Yeah. Okay. And rush is.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Is that like once seven yards away from the line of scrimmage and then you're. You're going in.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. I remember when I played flag football, I hated the rusher so much. Quarterback, too. I'm like, dude, they're so pesky and just annoying and in my face and disrupting everything that I'm trying to accomplish

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

a certain level of psycho to rush.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

You actually do. Yeah. You actually.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Your motor has to be. I have all credit to rush.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Like, it is the hardest thing to do in flag football.

[Podcast Host]

Is it usually like the quick person? Because I remember back in the day when we would rush, like, we just wanted speed. We want you to get as quick and like, obviously, like agile and can move side to side, but like get to the quarterback as fast as possible. Is that. Is that usually the strategy?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I feel like that's what you first can initially look at with someone. Like when you're trying to determine a rusher. But like a great rusher is just like super high IQ too. I think.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Very high iq.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I don't know. Like, I just. And crazy. I feel like you have.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

I think the mix is like speed you want. They don't have to be like lanky, but it helps. Like someone like me who doesn't move much. Like, I struggle more with. With a tall rusher than someone that's going to be fast for the ball. IQs probably the biggest. Honestly, more than interesting to a degree. Like, you have to have a. Like, I would say it's probably 40 IQ for even 45 IQ. 40 speed. And then the rest, like psycho.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. Honestly, great flag puller too.

[Podcast Host]

But when you say iq. So I'm trying to think like as a rusher, like, what exactly is the. Because. Because if I'm rushing, can I back up and get back into coverage or once I commit to rushing, I have to.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So stay once. You just can't cross the line of scrimmage.

[Podcast Host]

Got it.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

So if you stay beyond the line scrimmage, they have more or less like 5 to 7 seconds to throw it. It's not the place. Blunt dead. Okay. But when I mean iq, like when to break down.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Like be a good flag puller. I think that falls under iq. And then the other thing, I feel

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

like double QB if. Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Situation happens and then there's like. If there's.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

What to do.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah. There's like two or three people in the backfield. Like, how do you play with your middle linebacker? How do you play with your safeties? How do you play with your corners? How do you communicate to the defense? So that type of stuff. Stuff that like.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Like hiking on the fly. Like literally.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

I think Russia is like one of those spots that if you don't know flag football, you would think, yeah, like, go get ball, go get quarterback. But in reality it might be the complete opposite of that.

[Podcast Host]

Interesting.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

90% of the time.

[Podcast Host]

That's crazy. It is interesting. And what when you guys. You guys are obviously both on offense. Are you guys scheming usually against zone man? Like what is. What is the coverage usually look like or are they alternating a lot?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

It's. I mean for us personally, I feel like it's alternating a lot.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

And it's dependent on the country we're playing. Like it changes certain countries like to run certain things.

[Podcast Host]

It's just based off personnel. Yeah, yeah. What your strengths are.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

It's a lot of zone being the usa like teams are. Teams like to playoffs. Back a lot. Both men and women. They play us back a lot. But I can speak for both of our offensive coordinators. They were sitting in front of us right now that like we don't like the defense doesn't dictate what we do type of thing. You're going to scheme a little bit. But we, we both have our systems and I think I would put both half of the coordinators here and they would be very vocal about that. That we. That we dictate the game.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Shout out coach Willie and Saeed.

[Podcast Host]

I'm hyped up now to go. I want to go watch some of these games. I feel like now I'm like I haven't watched the flag football game in a while and I, I generally enjoyed it because I would stay at the park after we like. Let's say we played like at 5pm There'll be a lineup of games after us and I just love just staying and watching and seeing and like scouting. Okay. We're playing them on Tuesday. Get the whole gang together, sit there on the sideline and you know, yes. Hey, we gotta watch this guy.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

There's definitely some element of that.

[Podcast Host]

Or be like, oh man, we got these guys.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, there's definitely still some element of that. Even like at all levels that you're like, okay, like this is their. This is like no matter what, like it's at the end they have to sport like. Like you know who's the people are. And like you're looking at like okay, this person's back here or like. And we've gotten to know like the countries pretty well like from like just playing them so much. And like they, they went down to Mexico a couple of weeks ago to play some of the Mexico girls and whatnot. That might be complete lie actually. They were. I think we're in trials already.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Like ex players.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, ex players. And like you get to like see them, know them play in their home country, which is pretty Cool. So stuff like that.

[Podcast Host]

Cool. Any heated rivalries that you guys have up to this point, that's all them.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

They got that.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

I mean, I feel like we always end up against Mexico. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

And like, everybody knows that now, so it's always us and them, and it's always a good game. They have great players, great coaching staff, and it's just honestly, it's. It's honestly so much fun.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Chirping. Yeah, chirping.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Well, I don't. They speak a lot of Spanish.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I don't really. You're gonna have to learn Spanish, though. So you know what, the other side. On the other side, we're like, we

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

need to learn Spanish, Spanish and French so we can speak to Canada, too.

[Podcast Host]

But throw them off when you start throwing, like, some Spanish stuff at them.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yes, Yes.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

I would say those are the two. She just said are the two biggest. Mexican and Canada. It could be border thing, but it's also like they're. They're getting good at the sport.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Like, we just played Mexico in. In San Francisco and they beat us by. Sorry. We beat them by a point. And it's just like. To show how far the game's grown.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. That's awesome. That's awesome. If, you know, five years from now, what would you say is the thing that excited you most through your journey at USA Flag football?

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Oh, I don't know. You can go first, I'll think.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Repeat the question.

[Podcast Host]

Five years from now, Right. If you were to look back, what would you say is the thing that excited you most about USA Flag football?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Obvious answer. Winning gold at the Olympics would be number, like. Like we talked about. That's the childhood dream.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Like, you see LeBron, you see Kobe playing in the. In the Olympics. That's what you dream about. Right? That's the. I mean, but at the end of the day, it's. It's the memories, like, them flying us out, like, as the men's team to San Francisco. Them flying them out as the women's team to go play at halftime in the Bills game. Like, the stuff they do for us behind the scenes is really, like, coming to light. And it's pretty awesome to see that. How much they care for us.

[Podcast Host]

That's awesome.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, I second that. Like, the competition aspect is amazing. And like, obviously the Olympics priority to look back and be able to say, like, you got to represent usa, won a gold, and then played the sport you love. Insane.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

But, yeah, I mean, the memories, like, I remember specifically when we played in Panama this last Year, Me, Macy, Madison. And then one of our assistant coaches was actually out. We woke up at like 5:30am to go watch the sunrise and we're there to play flag football and there's this stray dog on the beach and we're playing with the dog and like we have to go play games later. And it's just to be able to think that flag has like taken, taken us to places like that. Just super thankful. So like to look back and, and say like, I've grown to have like family members now, sisters and stuff. So pretty awesome.

[Podcast Host]

That's awesome. And then one last question for you guys. What would be your advice to a young boy or girl that wants to get into flag football? What would be something that you would tell them today?

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Stay with. It would be obviously the first thing, but just like any other sport, like you gotta train and prepare just like any other sport and let the wind take you, like it's gonna all work itself out. And if you do your things the way you're supposed to do them, then it all works itself out at the end of the day.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Yeah, I think going off of that, it's like specifically two girls and boys, but like you'll have a future in the sport. And I don't think people realize that, but the sport is growing at like an exponential rate and a lot of kids are getting into it like, you know, just for fun. But it's like you truly have an opportunity of a lifetime ahead of you to be an Olympian and to play in college and earn a scholarship in the sport. So like, like you said, if you, I mean, truly want to chase it, chase it like your, your dreams are there 100%.

[Podcast Host]

Oh yeah. That's awesome. It's great to see how much the game obviously has grown like we mentioned, and how much it will continue to grow.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

And just seeing the evolution of how, how it is. But I think the, the common denominator in all of this, right, is the experience, right? And, and everything that comes with it and the lessons that you guys will take with you for the rest of your life. And hopefully the next generation and the next generation will continue to be part of this hyper growth of the game. And I think the future obviously is bright. And I'm, now I'm, I'm pumped. Like, I'm amped up. Like I, I, I genuinely cannot wait. It's an exciting to go watch for sure, flag football.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

And then the biggest thing, like honestly like looking past 2020, it's like if this all stays an Olympic sport, Like, I think that's only going to continue.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, yeah.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Grow. And. And the women's game being in college is like, m. Like insane.

[Podcast Host]

The mag

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

understated. Like, it's like, it's so big and it's going to. It's going to continue, like I'm saying, like, to make the game blossom and

[Podcast Host]

especially that, like, in college sports, it's not that easy to just say, hey, we're going to add this sport. Right. Obviously, like, there's so many layers and elements. So for them to say, hey, like, this is the push because if you're going to do something, you got to commit fully. Right? And to me, that is a testament to them saying, like, hey, we are committing to this and we're committing it to it fully. And these are the resources and these are the opportunities because now you have the opportunity to get a tuition paid for right through a sport right where you didn't have that opportunity before. So these are all the right steps in the right direction to continue to evolve a game and provide opportunities to. To the next generation. Right. Because it's always what's. What's next. But appreciate you guys for coming on. Great, great. We got to make this happen. I know you're not here in Miami, but you are. So being able to have everybody here in the MIA after getting to connect in San Francisco after the super bowl is awesome. So appreciate you guys for coming on. Good luck with everything and, you know, we're excited for the future of what's to come.

[Nico (Male Flag Football Player)]

Thank you.

[Izzy (Female Flag Football Player)]

Thank you guys. Appreciate it.

[Podcast Host]

Thank you guys.

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