Making the right moves

by Matthew Ondesko: Managing Editor

Photos: Mercyhurst Athletics

Isabella Iaquinta knows what it takes to have discipline when it comes to being a collegiate flag football player.

The freshman from Cranberry, Pa has been a competitive dancer her entire life. She is used to working hard on her routines to perfect them for her competitions. When it comes to dancing it’s about long practices and working on certain techniques to get to the level you want to be at.

It’s about working through being tired and fatigue.

“Dance takes a lot of discipline — long practices, attention to detail, and constantly working to improve technique,” stated Iaquinta. “It teaches you how to push through being tired and still perform at a high level.”

Being a dancer has definitely helped Iaquinta when it comes to becoming a Division I athlete. It has a lot of the same principals that many athletes use on a daily basis. Being a dancer has allowed Iaquinta to work on her balance, footwork and body control.

When is comes to flag football these are some of the biggest things that players consistently work on. Once you get the ball in open space it is all about balance. The goal is to make sure the other player can’t pull the flag.

“Dance definitely helped me with footwork, balance, and body control,” stated Iaquinta. “Being quick on your feet and able to change direction fast is huge in flag football. It’s something that’s helped me a lot over the years. Dance truly has made me the athlete I am today.”

It has been quite the journey for Iaquinta when it comes to playing Division I flag football. Iaquinta played in high school,but thought that would be it for her athletic career. Her plan was to dance to college.

That’s what she was going to do. Than flag football exploded over the past couple of years, with more than 60 percent participation since 2023-2024. With colleges seeing the growth, many have started to added flag football to their stable of sports.

While most are at the Division II, III and NAIA levels, there are a handful of schools that have added it as Division I sport. Mercyhurst is one of the schools that have already jumped to the forefront when it comes to offering the sport at the highest level.

So, Iaquinta from doing dance in college to starting as a freshman on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

“Flag was never in the picture for me. My goal was to dance in college. This opportunity came to me unexpectedly and God had a plan for me. I was really excited because it’s such a huge opportunity, especially for women’s flag football. It hit me that this is something serious, like I could actually play at the college level and be part of something new. It made me want to work even harder knowing I had that chance,” stated Iaquinta. “It’s honestly super exciting. Being part of the first DI team means we’re setting the standard for everything that comes after us. We’re building the culture, the expectations, and what this program is going to look like long-term. It’s something bigger than just playing, we’re making history.”

Iaquinta has been a big part of the team’s early success. In their first year, Mercyhurst is 6-4 overall and 2-1 in the league play. For her part, Iaquinta has 112 yards receiving and two touchdowns on offense.

But, her presence is felt more the on the defensive side of the ball. The freshman has 27 total tackles at the linebacker spot, and a pick six on her resume. Her pick six was just her reading quarterback and what kind of route the receiver was running.

“I was reading the quarterback and watching the receiver’s route,” stated Iaquinta. “Once I saw the route develop, I just trusted my instincts and jumped it. It all kind of happened fast, but it comes from film and understanding tendencies.”

With Iaquinta is playing on both sides of the ball, she has been doing a lot of studying. Iaquinta needs to know the routes of a receiver and than watch film on the defensive side of the ball. It is a lot to handle at times, but nothing she can’t handle.

For Iaquinta it’s all about staying locked in during practice and asking questions. If there is something she doesn’t understand, Iaquinta makes sure she seeks someone out to help her get the answer.

It also means staying after practice at times and just working on her skill.

“It definitely takes a lot of focus and preparation. You have to really study both play books and understand your role on offense and defense. For me, it’s about staying locked in at practice, asking questions, and putting in extra time outside of practice so I’m confident on both sides of the ball,” stated Iaquinta. “Probably the mental side of it (when talking about playing both ways). Physically it’s tiring, but mentally switching from offense to defense and knowing different assignments back-to-back is the biggest challenge. You have to stay sharp the whole time.”

Staying sharp also means being in the right position when it comes to pulling flags. Pulling flags isn’t as easy as people may think it is. You are trying to pull a flag as these girl is running full speed and making cuts.

Pulling flags is a skill and Iaquinta works hard in practice making sure she takes the right angles and breaking down before going for the flag pull.

“A lot of it comes from repetition in practice. We do drills that focus on angles, positioning, and staying under control,” stated Iaquinta. “It’s all about breaking down, reading the play, and putting yourself in the right spot so you don’t miss. The speed of the game for sure (is the biggest difference). “Everything is faster, the players, the decision-making, everything.You have less time to think, so you have to be more prepared and confident.”