A few months ago, Mya De Jesus had never been on a plane. Now, her budding flag football career is taking her to California for the Pro Bowl.
Instead of a tackle, Mya De Jesus pulled out an incredible opportunity.
The Harrison High School senior linebacker was one of 32 girls flag football players selected to play in the 2026 NFL FLAG Girls Showcase on Feb. 3 at Levi Stadium, the site of Super Bowl LX.
She will only be in California for a few days – she has to rush back for a basketball game – but will take part as the Jets' representative in the AFC vs. NFC high school flag football game before the NFL stars compete in the Pro Bowl Games. The game will be televised on ESPN.
After never being on a plane until just a few months ago, playing flag football has opened incredible opportunities for the 5-foot-2 tackling machine with size 7.5 cleats. She’s looking at places to play flag in college. She’s a member of the Jets Flag Elite club program, and now she’s going to the Pro Bowl.
“It honestly hasn’t hit me that all this has happened,” De Jesus said. “I just started playing flag not that long ago and I still feel like a freshman just starting out in a lot of ways. It’s so amazing. It’s actually so cool that I am able to do this and put my town on the map.”
De Jesus got the news before Christmas that she had been selected and said she was jumping up and down with excitement.
“It’s definitely the coolest opportunity I've seen afforded to an athlete that I have worked with or coached, and we are all so excited for her,” Harrison flag football coach Dan Nankivell said. “The entire school and community is excited for her.”
Planting the flag
Harrison, which gave up its varsity boys football program after the 2023 season, has become a flag football power in North Jersey with just two losses in the last two seasons.
As the sport has flourished – it is expected to be New Jersey’s next officially sanctioned high school sport starting in spring of 2027 − so has the quality of play. One of the nuances of the game is the ability to pull an opposing players’ flag. On the surface it looks easy, but it’s far from it. The girls are moving at a high speed and swiveling their hips to make the flags even harder to pull.
De Jesus enlisted the help of two friends, Hanna Medina and Ranya Ayatallah, to work on her flag-pulling skills. She would have them attempt to run by her wearing flags around their waist and De Jesus would practice making the pull. In exchange, she’d offer them food, she said with a laugh
“I think I am very defense-minded,” De Jesus said. “I am able to read players well. I am a good flag puller. I don’t think I am the best at one-v-one coverage, players are taller or faster, but if they catch the ball, I get the flag.”
Said Nankivell: “I played tackle football my entire life and one of the hardest transitions I have had to make is teaching flag pulling, a skill that the vast majority of our players are better than me. ya has become an exceptional flag puller. She is a natural linebacker with natural instincts.”
A big world
Joining the Jets Elite flag program has also expanded De Jesus’ world. Her first time on a plane was just a few weeks ago for a Christmas tournament. Flying wasn’t her favorite experience ever, but she’s not going to pass up a trip to the Pro Bowl.
“When is the next time you’re going to be able to go to these places?” she asked.
Somehow, she manages all this in addition to being the starting point guard on the basketball team and is part of a service organization at the high school that tutors younger students.
“I have coached and taught Mya and I think any of her coaches or teachers would agree, Mya only has one setting, 150 miles per hour,” Nankivell said. “She attacks everything that way, on the football field, on the court, and in the classroom.”
Several colleges are adding flag football programs to their offerings, including Kean and Montclair State. De Jesus has talked to a bunch of different schools about playing in college, including Marymount in Virginia and Penn State-Schuykill. She has plans to study criminal justice.
Waving the Harrison flag
De Jesus and her mother, Liliana Avila, leave on Feb. 1. The itinerary is packed with events.
“I think it’s going to be really cool,” De Jesus said. “I have seen other girls play from around here, but these are people from different states and it’s really exciting to see a whole array of different girls on my team. No one plays the same way, everyone has their thing."
De Jesus isn’t that big of an NFL fan, but she said she likes the Jets and the Eagles. She is more interested in Bad Bunny and the Super Bowl halftime show, but she’s extremely excited to take part in all the Pro Bowl activities. How many girls from Harrison get this chance?
“The Jets made a social media post and a poster, and my mom is really excited for me too,” De Jesus said. “No one ever expected this to take me so far, getting to travel; if it wasn’t for flag, I wouldn’t have even gone on a plane.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Mya De Jesus: Harrison NJ flag football player earns spot at Pro Bowl
Category: General Sports
