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Addy Curry plays quarterback, wide receiver, and safety at Tocoi Creek High School, and wide receiver and DB for Jaguars Elite, one of the top travel programs in Florida. She is also a sophomore, which makes what happened this spring worth stopping on: she went through USA Football's talent ID camps, got the email inviting her to national team trials, flew to Chula Vista, and made the U17 national team with two years of high school still in front of her.
By summer, she had made the final roster for the 2026 Junior International Cup. This conversation happened right after the first phone call, when it was all brand new. Edited for length and clarity.
Take us back to the start. How did the national team door even open?
I found out through an email. I went to a couple of talent ID camps before that, and I got an email that I was going to trials.
From there it was basically just training every single day. I worked with Coach G at Athlete Sanctuary almost every day on my speed and explosiveness, and I did a lot of work with Jaguars Elite on my route running and field work with Coach BA and Coach Ralph.
What did the trials actually look like?
It was in Chula Vista, California. Thursday was orientation and check-in. Friday was combine testing: the 20-yard dash, the 5-10-5, broad jump, vertical, and an endurance test, then a second session with routes on air and flag pulling. Saturday was more drills, and then we got into scrimmaging. I played three scrimmages that session and three more Sunday morning.
It was a lot. But it was fun.
Where did you win the weekend?
On one of the days I got three picks at DB. So I think DB is where my highlights were.
But definitely the nerves got to me on the first day. They kind of took over when I knew I could do better than what I actually did.
And then the call came.
I think it was two days after. I got a phone call from the head coach, Coach Saunders, and he told me the news.
It was amazing. I was just overwhelmed with joy. So happy, and just grateful for this opportunity that's been given to me.
You train with something called a 1080 machine. Explain that to the rest of us.
It's a resistance machine. You put a belt on and it gives you resistance on your running, weighted or not. It built a profile for me, so now I have a schedule of exactly what I need to do every day to get faster: my weight, my speed, my goal for my speed, even my miles per hour. If I'm not hitting it, I know I need to get faster.
College is coming fast. What does that road look like from here?
My recruitment is definitely open, and I would love to play D1. I know D1 is still growing with the big universities, but when I'm a junior or senior and that's the opportunity, that's definitely where I want to go.
Any words for the athletes coming up behind you?
Never let yesterday take up today. You can always get better today, and you can't change the past.
She said that like she had it locked and loaded, and honestly, she probably did. Sophomores who make Team USA tend to have their habits figured out before the rest of us catch up. Every game she plays from here goes on her record. We plan on counting all of them.
BreakAway Data is the athlete performance network for flag football. We count the games nobody else counts.