La Sierra women’s flag football makes history, reaches GSAC championship in debut season

The Golden Eagles finished with an 18-9 overall record; 7 wins -3 losses in conference play, placed second in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' (NAIA) Great Southwest conference, and advanced to the conference championship game. The team produced two NAIA All-Americans, the GSAC Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, and three All-Conference selections, among them defender Jessenia Valdez.

The program also became the first varsity flag football program among Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities in the North American Division. It rides a wave of collegiate popularity that surged over the past few years. In 2020, the NAIA declared women's flag football an official varsity sport, and earlier this year, the NCAA added the sport to its Emerging Sports for Women program.

As a result of strong international interest, men's and women's flag football will be an official sport of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Many members of the La Sierra women's flag football team have attended U.S.A. Football Talent ID Camps and Head Coach Brianne "Bri" Talboom has attended as an invited member of the coaching staff, she said. The camps are used to identify skilled players for potential recruitment into the U.S. National Team pipeline.

During a talk for a TEDxLaSierraUniversity event in May at the university's Zapara School of Business, sports strategist Amber Jones, a former flag football coach and semi-pro player, noted that today more than half a million girls and women play flag football in the U.S. with significant investment from the NFL, U.S.A. Football, and international federations. Following her talk at Troesh Conference Center, the La Sierra women's flag football team and coaches posed for a photo with Jones.

Talboom had spent years trying to bring flag football to La Sierra. She pitched the idea around 2020, only to watch COVID-19 put it on hold. Years later, the university approved the program, and Talboom was asked to return and lead it.

Building a roster from scratch, she recruited for what she calls the "Golden Eagle mentality--A champion in the classroom, a champion on the field, but most importantly, a champion of character," she said. Many arrived from their schools as valedictorians, captains, Most Valuable Players, and student leaders.

The chance to create something from the ground up attracted players to La Sierra. "I was skeptical at first because there was no record, but I was determined to start history right," said freshman captain Grace Galdamez.

"I saw my teammates just pour their hearts out into that game." - Makenzie McMillin, freshman captain

Finding the right players was just the start. Talboom built the program around the whole athlete. Players have access to a sports psychologist, nutritionist, tutors, athletic trainers, and other support services designed to help them succeed. Every athlete passed their classes and the team pushed through the season with a 99% retention rate. "That to me is success. Even if we didn't win one game, if they enjoy themselves and want to come back," she said. That care, rooted in the Adventist university's identity, is what the players felt first. "I feel like people actually care about me. I'm not just a number," Talboom recalled one saying.

Players point to a jamboree win in March over Arizona Christian University as the season's turning point. "I don't know what happened, but we just clicked," said freshman captain Makenzie McMillin.

"From there on, I knew we had made history," Galdamez said.

After that victory, the players finally believed it themselves. "It wasn't 'we can do this' anymore," Talboom said. "It was 'we are doing this.'" They rode that belief all the way to the GSAC title game. "You can coach for many years and never make it to a championship game like that," she said.

La Sierra lost a close championship game, but no one held back on the field. "I dove for absolutely anything I could. I saw my teammates just pour their hearts out into that game," McMillin said. It was the kind of all-out effort that Talboom values most.

Two of those freshmen finished the year as NAIA All-Americans and shared the program's co-MVP award. McMillin landed among the NAIA's top five nationally in flags pulled per game, while Galdamez added Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors. "It's a blessing. This is just the beginning," Galdamez said.

The program's impact extended beyond conference play. Associate Head Coach Nikki Verdugo, who also coaches the American Samoa National Team, took a group of La Sierra athletes to Ningbo, China, to compete internationally qualifying tournaments and continue their pathway to the 2028 Olympic Games.

Yet for all the accolades, those inside the program insist the season was made special not by historic achievements, but by the deep connections that formed.

"It's more than just a team. This is a family." - Head Coach Brianne 'Bri' Talboom

Junior Sandrinne Labayen, one of the team's few upperclassmen, said she often felt like a big sister to her freshman teammates. The experience became "so much more than football," she said, leaving her with friendships and mentors beyond the game. Talboom also recalled a time at practice when an injured player on the sidelines stopped her and said, "Thank you for giving me my best friends."

For Talboom, it was confirmation that the culture she envisioned had taken hold. "It brings a tear to your eyes. It's more than just a team. This is a family," she said.

The championship appearance and awards may define the season on paper. But for the players and coaches who built La Sierra's first women's flag football team, the season's greatest accomplishment, they say, may have been creating something that will last long after the final whistle: turning a group of strangers into sisters.