16-year-old excels at quarterback, has
taken up coaching too
By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
.JPG) |
| Adley Tomlenovich sets to make a pass for the Fever on Sept. 22. |
The 16-year-old Grade 11 student from St. Joseph High School has established herself as an elite talent at quarterback in the female flag game. On top of playing in Saskatoon Minor Football’s Toon Squad League, she has played for Team Saskatchewan twice at nationals and threw passes for Team Canada at USA Football’s Junior International Cup in July of 2024 in the under-15 age group.
On top of
playing the sport, Tomlenovich took up being the head coach for a Grade 6
female squad that plays in the 5 on 5 NFL Youth Flag Football circuit overseen
by Saskatoon Minor Football. While she enjoys the people in the sport,
Tomlenovich has been captivated by the game planning and the strategy that goes
with the sport.
“(I love the) mental aspect of the sport, because my
position is quarterback,” said Tomlenovich. “That is definitely the biggest
mental game I would say.
“I love being able to read plays and figure out where
everybody works best and that aspect of the game I love the most.”
Tomlenovich
got her start in flag football about eight years ago, and she hasn’t looked
back since that initial beginning.
“I started flag football back in about Grade 3 for me,” said
Tomlenovich, who stands 5-foot-6. “A couple of friends were playing in a
league, and that was back when we had like Velcro flags.
“I’ve definitely seen it grow over the years, because now,
it is gone so big from where I started with it. I just started trying out for
every opportunity that started coming to Saskatoon, and that is where I got to
where I am today.”
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| Adley Tomlenovich played flag football for Canada in July of 2024. |
“I decided on this just because it was like my biggest love,
and I wanted to put all my time into it, and this is where all my friends are,”
said Tomlenovich, who has spent a lot of time throwing passes at Saskatoon
Minor Football Field and the Indoor Training Centre on the Gordie Howe Sports
Complex grounds. “I decided that this would be the happiest route for me, so I
decided to go to the Institute of Saskatchewan Football, so I could spend my
days doing it.
“After school, I’m doing Toon Squad.”
Earlier this year while in her second semester of her Grade 10 school year, Tomlenovich was part of the inaugural group that took part in the Institute of Saskatchewan Football program offered by Saskatoon Minor Football.
The program
is an academy program that allows players to get high school credit for their
football training. As part of that program, Tomlenovich gained some experience
in tackle football.
On top of
being part of the Institute of Saskatchewan Football, Tomlenovich has been a
member of the Saskatoon Minor Football’s Toon Squad flag travel teams the past
two years, where she has gone down to Florida to participate in game action.
She is expecting to be back with the Toon Squad travel teams for a third
straight year and with the Institute of Saskatchewan Football in the second
consecutive year in early 2026.
To date,
one of Tomlenovich’s biggest thrills has been playing for Team Canada at USA
Football’s Junior International Cup in July of 2024 in the under-15 age group.
She earned that opportunity after helping quarterback Saskatchewan’s provincial
team to a gold medal at under-16 nationals in Kingston, Ont., in May of that
year.
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| Adley Tomlenovich coaches an NFL 5-on-5 Youth Flag Football team. |
“I think that was the most interesting part was seeing how other countries run their offence.”
Over her
career as a player, Tomlenovich has been coached by numerous members of the
storied Saskatoon Valkyries, who have won 10 Western Women’s Canadian Football
League championships in the tackle game. As she has grown up playing flag
football, Tomlenovich said the Valkyries have been great influences and role
models.
“I’ve definitely gone to learn different things from each of
the coaches,” said Tomlenovich. “I’ve had so many coaches over my time and
every one of them has a unique style.
“You definitely learn what works for you throughout having
different types of coaches.”
Tomlenovich
took a big step on her own journey of being a coach this past September and
October with Saskatoon Minor Football’s NFL 5-on-5 Youth Flag Football.
At first, she wasn’t expecting to fulfill a head coach role.
“One of my friends was coaching his younger sister and asked
if I’d start helping out,” said Tomlenovich. “Then, he ended up not being able
to coach the team anymore.
“I was like I would do it, so I took over the team. I didn’t
know any of the girls. They were in Grade 6, but I loved coaching them so much.
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| Adley Tomlenovich, left, gives instructions in the role of head coach. |
Tomlenovich had helped out coaching in football camps, but her experience with the NFL 5-on-5 Youth Flag Football marked the first time she had ever coached her own team.
She ended up being the only coach on her squad, which meant she was responsible for practice plans and calling plays on offence and defence.
The talented quarterback would find herself constantly coaching
against adults and often fathers who had daughters playing on opposing teams.
While she took on way more than most her age would when it
came to coaching, Tomlenovich was ready to rise to the challenge when it came
to shouldering those new responsibilities.
“It was definitely a lot even figuring out who is supposed
to be on the field,” said Tomlenovich. “They are in Grade 6.
“They don’t really know what they are doing either, so it
was definitely a lot. I’m running around quite a bit, usually being the
sweatiest person at the end of the game. I had a lot of fun doing it, and I’m
planning on doing it again in the spring.”
While she has found her coaching experience to be a great
one, Tomlenovich’s primary focus is going as far as she can as a player in the
flag game. The sport in both men’s and women’s competition will be part of the
2028 Summer Olympics to be played in Los Angeles, Calif. Tomlenovich would love
to play in an Olympics one day as part of continuing the sport after the
conclusion of her high school days.
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| Adley Tomlenovich, centre, will be calling plays long into the future. |
“It is now trying to become a D1 (Division I) sport in the
(United) States, so that would be my first goal. After that if I have the
opportunity to represent my country again at the Olympic level, I would
definitely hope to take any stepping stone I can to get there.”
For more information on the flag and other programs offered by Saskatoon Minor Football, feel free to check out their website at saskatoonminorfootball.com/smf.
