Naperville Central senior Lyla Hope has been a fan of the NFL from a young age, paying particular attention to the quarterbacks because she likes throwing the ball.
But the only ball Hope had thrown in high school was a softball. That changed last summer, when Naperville Central started a flag football team.
“I just love football, so when the opportunity arose, I just thought, ‘Why not try something new?’” Hope said. “I previously played volleyball in the past. It seemed cooler to play flag football, especially for the first year, and I really wanted to do something big for the school.”
Hope did exactly that. Instead of playing outside hitter for the girls volleyball team, as she did as a junior, she spent the fall season playing quarterback.
Hope used her big arm, which she also utilizes as the third baseman for the softball team, to complete 355 of 586 passes for 4,960 yards and 62 touchdowns with 26 interceptions. Her leading receivers were soccer stars Nicole Smith and Malia Shen.
Smith caught 83 passes for 1,256 yards and 22 TDs, while Shen had 61 receptions for 1,062 yards and 12 TDs, as the Redhawks went 16-4 and won a regional championship.
Hope’s pioneering days are not over. She became Naperville Central’s first commit in flag football when she signed to play at Illinois Springfield, a Division II program that will begin playing in spring 2027.
“I’m really excited,” Hope said. “It feels really cool and kind of surreal since it’s all happening in one year.
“I feel proud of myself for paving a path for younger females and showing them that they can do something big with their potential if you have enough courage to put yourself out there.”
In her first season playing varsity softball, Hope is setting a good example for the Redhawks (12-6, 7-0), who lead the DuPage Valley Conference.
“She’s definitely in a really unique position, and I think that’s really amazing for her, especially being the first commit for flag football,” Penn-bound senior shortstop Natalie Lau said.
“But I think particularly for our team, she brings a lot of positivity. She’s just a good person for some of our freshmen and other younger girls on the team to look up to just personality-wise and with how she treats other people. That’s really important.”
Naperville Central softball coach Andy Nussbaum, who is an assistant in football and whose four sons have played or are playing college football, can attest to Hope’s talent in both sports.
“It was fun watching her in flag football,” Nussbaum said. “She throws the ball well and had some decent athletes that could catch the ball.
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“She played shortstop for the JV team most of last year, so we knew she was a good infielder. But we have Natalie at shortstop, and we were looking for a third baseman.”
The Redhawks found one in Hope, who has made only two errors in 21 total chances and gives the Redhawks two strong arms on the left side of the infield.
“I think she made an error the second game after spring break and hasn’t made an error since,” Nussbaum said. “That’s like 10 games ago, so she does a great job defensively, which is characteristic of our team.”
Hope hasn’t had as much success at the plate yet. She’s had one hit in 16 at-bats and has scored three runs.
“She’s struggling at the plate, but she’s a smart hitter,” Nussbaum said. “She has walked six times out of her 22 plate appearances, so she knows the strike zone.”
Hope played softball until she was in seventh grade, when she stopped to focus on volleyball. She resumed playing only last year.
“It’s been fun to help out and just do what I can for the team to help us win,” she said.
Looking ahead, Hope is hoping that flag football continues to grow in popularity, noting that it will be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Hope’s father, Barry, is a native of Manchester, England, who came to the U.S. to play college soccer at Coastal Carolina. What does he think of his daughter’s flag football career?
“He thinks it’s cool,” Hope said. “He doesn’t really throw the football as well as I do, but I’m teaching him because I have to play catch with him. He’d rather punt the ball back to me after I throw it.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.