Senior Brianna Lill has been named Athlete of the Week for her sportsmanship on and off the field. Lill is kicking off the inaugural Girls Flag Football season by exemplifying East’s core values of excellence, academics, spirit, and tradition.

Lill grew up as an athlete, starting her journey in competitive dance before transitioning to volleyball and now flag football. Through these sports, she has learned about leadership and being a team player.

Girls flag football head coach, Ryan Clifford, views Lill as an extremely dedicated member of the team. He calls attention to her strong work ethic and overall skill.

“Brianna consistently demonstrates elite performance on the field, playing with determination, skill, and leadership,” Clifford said, “She is the type of athlete who shows up early, stays late, and is always willing to put in the extra work to improve.”

As a result of her hard work, Lill was named as captain of the team. This honor has meant a great deal to her and inspired her to work even harder on the field.

“Being named captain was a fulfilling and proud moment for me. I give my best effort at every practice and continue to push myself to learn more about the game,” Lill said. “My goal is to be the type of leader the girls can look up to, someone whose actions match her words.”

Lill values every one of her teammates and appreciates the opportunity to grow a relationship with her team.

“This team is unique because I see these girls every day and get the chance to know each of them, which strengthens our bond. They’ve truly become like sisters to me,” Lill said.

Lill is a very team-oriented person and has shown that by constantly being a cheerleader for her teammates as well as motivating them to be their best. 

Ashley Gumm, a senior on the flag football team, has found Lill’s best trait to be her social awareness and using that through her role as captain.

“She [Lill] has good energy, she knows how to help fix little things in our play to make us better,” Gumm said, “She knows how to tell the team things without sounding like she is better than anyone.” 

Lill is the starting wide receiver for the varsity team and looks to take on Hinsdale South and Plainfield North this week.

Written by senior Allie Heren. Edited by staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.