March 10, 2023 - It’s a gray, rainy Friday morning in Charlotte, NC. We’re inside the Belk Gymnasium, on the UNC-Charlotte campus, since the weather conditions aren’t ideal for outside testing.
Athletes and coaches have been up since early this morning. The first round of athlete testing started at 6:15am today. It’s going to be a long weekend for the staff and the athletes, but the energy, buzz and competitive spirit will keep the momentum going for everyone.
All of the athletes in attendance (roughly 45 men and 47 women), have been invited to the United States Performance Center in Charlotte for National Team Trials, hosted on behalf of USA Football and the U.S. National Team. National Team Trials is a 3-day invite-only event where athletes compete and showcase their abilities in hopes of being selected to represent Team USA on the Flag National Team.
Coaches from USA Football invited new, and existing, athletes from around the country to attend the 2023 National Team Trials for evaluation. A handful of these athletes were discovered through USA Football’s Digital Combine on GMTM.
Last fall, 122 athletes participated in USA Football’s Digital Combine submitting hundreds of videos for coaches to review and evaluate virtually. USA Football extended invites to 8 of these hopeful athletes who made an impression through their digital submissions. Of the 8 GMTM athletes invited, 4 were in attendance at the trials.
Here are the 4 athletes who were in attendance at the 2023 National Team Trials after earning their invites on GMTM:
Angela Villarreal - San Antonio, Texas
Angela Villarreal is a former Division-I basketball player at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. She grew up playing basketball and started playing flag football in college through campus recreation leagues. She continued playing after graduation and has been playing with the Women’s Lightz Out flag football team for the past 2 years.
She is excited to have the opportunity to be seen in person by USA Football and hopes to learn more about how to grow within the sport, continue competing, and improve as a flag football athlete.
Randrea Gamble - Miramar, Florida
Randrea Gamble has been playing flag football since 8th grade, and has played just about every position on the field. She currently attends Ottawa as a junior, where she was a member of the Women's Basketball team during her sophomore year and is currently a member of the Women’s Flag Football team. Randrea got her start in sports in the 4th grade, when she began playing basketball. In high school, she ran track & field.
As a hardworking multi-sport and multi-talent athlete, Randrea is looking forward to bringing her energy, discipline, and wide variety of skills to the Women’s U.S. National Team.
Austin Conrad - Spring, Texas
Austin Conrad is a former Division-I college football player and track sprinter at Rice University. Austin played flag football up until age 14 and has played in national tournaments hosted by the NFL multiple times.
Austin traveled early Thursday morning from Texas to Charlotte, in order to take advantage of the opportunity to show off his skills as a former D-1 football player and track athlete for National Team coaches.
Ahmad Scott - Dallas, Texas
Ahmad Scott is a former college football player at Harding University in Arkansas. While playing in college, Scott was a running back and return specialist.
Ahmad believes he has what it takes to make a positive impact on the National Team. He knows that he can play both sides of the field, and he feels that his football skills, speed and agility will be a great asset for the Men’s team.
Over the next few days, USA Football coaches will be reviewing the testing results and watching footage compiled from all of the athletes that were in attendance, including the 4 GMTM athletes. On March 21, 2023 USA Football will be announcing the 2023 National Team selections.
There will be future opportunities for new athletes to get involved with USA Football, so be sure to stay tuned for updates.
Looking for opportunities? You can check out other events happening across the GMTM network here.
