Shannon Pichler had the opportunity to be part of the San Lorenzo Valley High girls flag football coaching staff from its early stages of establishment in 2024.
Since then, the program has sprouted tremendously.
The Cougar second-year head coach currently has 18 players on the roster, more than double in size from last year. But despite the sudden boom, Pichler said low numbers continue to be one of their biggest challenges.
“It isn’t always easy to compete against schools with larger rosters, more established programs and greater resources,” said Pichler in an email. “But despite those odds, these girls return every year.”
Some of those key returning players include juniors Savanna Robertson, Emily Petrov and Audrey Jouglet, who all took on the role as team captains. Robertson and Jouglet have been instrumental in motivating teammates while also driving to grow the program.
“This year we have a full team, we have more recognition,” Robertson said. “We have new jerseys, it feels much better this year.”
Petrov continues to be a workhorse on the field and carries a positive attitude while putting in 100 percent in every play.
“[Flag football has] definitely gained more recognition,” she said. “Freshman year, we didn’t even have a photo in the yearbook.”
Other upperclassmen on the Cougars include juniors Grace Zogg, Karina Avalos and Taylor Freidrich.
Pichler coached most of the current players during their first year of flag football in middle school, and she continued overseeing them at the high school level.
Pichler said this year’s group shows up, works hard, competes and continues believing they can build something at SLV.
“As long as they continue to show up, I want to continue showing up for them,” she said.
The numbers have grown for SLV, but the roster is freshman-heavy. Danielle Grey, Mackenzie Flippin and Veeda Petroff are the trio to look out for this season, while Uma Odland and Zoe Haff will be another pair to keep an eye on.
Pichler said Odland is already becoming a vocal leader on defense, while Haff continues to have a positive impact on and off the field.
The rest of the freshmen class includes Ashley Alvarenga, Cheyenne Seavers, Gabrielle Machado, Gianna Arroyo, Madi Kurek, Mikayla Gonsalves, Olive Welsh, Sophia Burgoa and Trinity Ahlo.
SLV is coming off a 25-0 loss to Soquel High in the teams’ Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League opener on Aug. 30. They played Scotts Valley High on Wednesday (game results were not available prior to this publication’s deadline).
The rest of the SCCAL includes Harbor, Santa Cruz and defending champion Aptos — the heavy favorite to win the league title again.
“My overall goal is to just show people that we do want to be here, we do want to play,” Robertson said. “We do want to be competitive, and hopefully gain more people and keep building off of what we have.”
Another big part of building the program is making sure athletes have the proper resources in order to be successful and safe.
Pichler has been actively fundraising so they can provide new uniforms, necessary safety equipment, game-day gear and the training equipment they need to run efficient, productive practices.
“We have made progress, but there is still more that we need,” she said.
As a developing program, Pichler said they simply don’t have all of the resources some larger, more established programs already have. Her goal is to continue raising funds so there won’t be a lack of resources.
With Pichler at the helm, Robertson said they feel supported in a way that makes them want to improve and show other teams in the area that they are there to compete.
“Feeling that support kind of brings us to do better and show the other teams we are trying our best to get back,” Robertson said.
Petrov mentioned that at times it felt they were always at a disadvantage whether it was the sports equipment or not having enough bodies to field a team.
“The fact that we come from such a small school compared to the other schools in our league, they have so much more funding than us,” she said. “[Pichler’s] always been important, and I’m really happy we have her. Really grateful for her.”
Pichler said building the flag football program is about much more than uniforms, equipment, or even wins and losses. She wants the players to have the opportunity to compete, become more confident, learn to rely on one another and experience everything that comes with being part of a high school team.
Another goal for Pichler is creating more awareness — not only for the program itself, but for the athletes who have continued to believe in it.
“I want families, businesses and community members throughout the SLV area to know that girls flag football is here,” she said. “These athletes are working hard, and this program needs their support to continue growing.”
Pichler’s vision is to have enough girls to field not only a competitive varsity team but also a junior varsity team, which would give younger and newer athletes an opportunity to develop while creating the depth and foundation the coaching staff needs to build a competitive program for years to come.
“We’re trying to build a girls flag football program at SLV that these athletes can be proud of today and that future generations of girls will have the opportunity to be part of for years to come,” she said.
