First female from Leon County signs to play College Flag Football

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Wednesday, Sidney Hines signed to play at the next level: joining the female flag football team at Warner College.

This makes Hines the first young woman in Leon County to get a full scholarship to play flag football at the collegiate level.

On the turf over at Chiles High, Hines throws the ball between her friends.

She says she has always known she was meant to play ball. From a young age, the Atlanta native was always playing amongst the boys, but that didn’t stand in her way.

“I was really good at it,” shared Sidney, “More than anything else I have ever played. It just came natural to me, running and catching.”

While she has been playing her whole life, women’s flag football was not recognized by the NCAA until this past spring.

Back in May of 2020, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics decided that starting this spring, female flag football would be a college sport.

Currently, only nine states are participating.

Florida has five schools offering this sport and Georgia has one.

Sidney will make history as the first girl in Leon County to be offered an opportunity to play, something Hines is humbled by: “It feels amazing I can’t believe I get to tell people that,” she said.

For Sidney, this achievement was never in her life plan, but as her coaches, like Amy Sherry-March say, it is a feat that goes beyond the high school senior.

“Very few do that without it being a dream or a goal. I just think it’s an amazing opportunity for her and with it being flag football, that is exciting because it opens a whole other door for female athletes who are looking to do that at the next level,” said Sherry-March.

As Sidney wears her new ‘Warner University’ colors with pride, she hopes to inspire other girls who might want to play football in college.

“Don’t let anything stop you. Just a year ago this was not a thing, you know, signing a full-ride. You can do anything,” she added.

And, for those who doubt her capabilities, “We can do the same as you can,” shared Hines. “W are out here catching, intercepting, running, we can do it all. There’s nothing we can’t do.”

The high school senior with a can do attitude and not an ounce of nerves, told WCTV that this is an opportunity to show what she’s made of, and prove that if you want it, you can do it.

“If you don’t believe in yourself then no one else is, and this wouldn’t be a sport if we didn’t believe in ourselves,” Hines said.

Hines hopes that after her collegiate career, she will be one of the first, if not ‘the’ first female player to play professional football.

Copyright 2021 WCTV. All rights reserved.