DENVER — It's training time for the Mile High Club (MHC) women's plus flag football team in Denver.
"Let's go five-and-in and let's go five-and-out out here."
Lacey Abell is the signal caller and she has a few extra tricks up her sleeve.
"It feels pretty incredible," she said. "I love football and I've always loved playing it ever since I was a kid and being able to play at such a high level, it feels pretty amazing."
Not only is she leading of of two MHC squads to a Pride Bowl tournament this June in Chicago, she was also named a quarterback on the USA Football’s Women’s Flag National Team. It didn't escape her that the announcement came simultaneously to the International Olympic Committee's announcement of flag football becoming an official Olympic sport for 2028 in Los Angeles.
"Making the USA Women's National Team roster, I thought was a pretty high achievement, but as soon as I heard that Olympic announcement, I definitely set my sights a little higher," Abell said. "That would just be incredible to represent my country playing the sport that I love so much."
And at 30 years old, she's not even fazed by nature's limitations.
"Definitely, I know that's a number but Aaron Rodgers is still playing and that's my favorite quarterback," the Wisconsin-native quipped. "But absolutely! I've been training with the USA National Team and they've been providing workouts for us and I think I'm honestly the fastest, the strongest, and best football player, the smartest football player I've been in a long time. It improves with age! Absolutely, I think that's a possibility."
Meanwhile before USA Football training camp, she's training with another group she calls the most competitive in the country.
"Some of the best women I've played with have been here in Denver. Even trying out for quarterback the first season that I came here, I wasn't sure I was going to make it just because of the talent that was here," she said. "It's one of the teams that everyone takes seriously, and I do take football pretty seriously, so to be able to travel with a team that is so competitive, I've enjoyed every minute of it."
Now, Abell is looking forward to the next challenge: taking her skills globally.
"In the tryouts, that was definitely some of the hardest football I've ever played. I enjoyed every moment of that too because, boy was it impressive to see the level of play that these women were at!" she said. "So, I cannot wait to get back to playing with these women on the USA team and then playing against women from other countries who are also playing at that elite level."
Only 18 men and 18 women advanced from trials to Training Camp this summer before the final 12-athlete rosters are selected ahead of the Flag Football World Championships in Lahti, Finland this August.