Two-way star Anyssa Lerma sparks Sunnyside girls flag football

Anyssa Lerma took a two-year hiatus from playing football, but she missed it dearly.

She missed it so much, she kicked off her youth football coaching career alongside her father, Alfredo Lerma, with the Southwest Rams on the south side of Tucson.

After her sophomore year at Sunnyside High School, Lerma heard the school was investing in a girls flag football program and looking to join other Tucson-area high schools to compete in the newly added AIA-sanctioned sport — and a sport that’s being added to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Lerma’s basketball coach at Sunnyside, Justin Delgado, informed Alfredo Lerma about Sunnyside working toward adding girls flag football.

Once the team was approved, “That’s how I became the coach at Sunnyside,” Lerma said.

Now a senior at Sunnyside, Anyssa Lerma has become a key cog to the Blue Devils’ (7-2) success in Year 2 as a program. Lerma is a quarterback and linebacker for Sunnyside. She has 2,275 passing yards this season and has 16 touchdowns in 14 games dating back to last year, according to MaxPreps.com. On defense, she leads the Blue Devils with 46 tackles and has two interceptions.

“I’m very proud of her as a dad, but more as a coach,” Alfredo Lerma said. “She works hard and she takes on a lot of responsibilities on the field and off the field.”

Anyssa Lerma “is not a selfish quarterback,” Alfredo Lerma added.

“She’s not worried about her stats or anything like that,” he said. “She would rather have someone else have the spotlight and give them opportunities to run or catch the ball. Sometimes I feel like she goes a little too out of her way to make that happen, but that’s just the person that she is and I think that’s why her teammates look up to her and really respect (her).”

‘I was born into it’

Anyssa Lerma’s path to football is a “very interesting story,” said head coach Lerma.

Her brother, also named Alfredo, played for the Southwest Rams, so “I developed the love for the game just by watching him.” Her brother is “one of her biggest fans, but also one of her biggest critics,” said the older Alfredo Lerma.

Between her father and her brother, Lerma was immersed in football. She often accompanied their training sessions at Rodeo Park when she was a toddler. Her first memories involve football.

“I was born into it,” she said.

Lerma coined herself “a visual learner” and studied her brother as a toddler.

At 5 years old, she played flag football for the Southwest Rams before playing tackle football for six years from the time she was 8 until she entered high school. Lerma primarily played linebacker and became a defensive captain with the Rams. She didn’t become a quarterback until her career at Sunnyside.

“She has really good vision on the field and we noticed that right away,” said Alfredo Lerma.

Playing linebacker “nearly my whole football career helped me a lot, because being a quarterback, I’m reading a lot of what I used to see when I was on defense,” Anyssa Lerma said.

“When I’m at quarterback, before I hike the ball, I like to read the defense and see where the players are set up,” she added. “It has helped me read the defense and know their move before I make my move.”

Even though Lerma was the only girl on her youth football teams, “her teammates saw her as a football player,” Alfredo Lerma said.

“They never saw her as a girl playing football,” said the Sunnyside coach. “She never felt out of place. They hit her as hard as they hit them. It was like she was one of the boys out there.”

Lerma tucked her hair in her helmet, “so a lot of times they didn’t even know she was a girl.” As the defensive ringleader, Lerma had one of the loudest voices on the team and had a profound impact on defense — leadership skills she inherited from her mother, Josie Carpena, Lerma said.

Coaching and hooping

When the high school chapter of her athletic career started, Lerma often heard from others, “advising her to switch sports,” so she focused on playing basketball.

Lerma spent her summers training at JET Sports Training, a renowned training facility founded by former Arizona Wildcat and Sunnyside graduate Bobby Rodriguez. Jesus Garcia, a performance coach at JET Sports Training, said Lerma has “been one of the most consistent athletes I’ve ever trained.”

“Whether it was early Saturday mornings or late-afternoon sessions after her flag practices, she always found time to come in and put in the work, no less than five days a week,” Garcia said. “I’ve never seen her take a rep off. She gives 100% effort in every aspect of training, from the warm-up to the conditioning.

“From Day 1, she’s been a true leader within the group. When others struggled during conditioning, she was the first to cheer them on. When new athletes joined, she made them feel welcome right away. ... She’s a natural-born leader who shows up every day with a great attitude and that makes our job as coaches so much easier.”

For the last three years, Lerma helped her dad coach flag football and 8U tackle football. While the older Lerma was the head coach, she was an assistant coach. Coaching “was just something I had in high school, because I didn’t have football,” Anyssa Lerma said.

“I love coaching, man,” she said. “I prefer coaching younger kids. Obviously their attention spans aren’t as long as the older kids. It’s just nice to hear, ‘Coach, Anyssa, what did you have for lunch?’ Stuff like that makes my day, so I really enjoy coaching.”

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In addition to a daughter-father and head coach-assistant coach relationship, Anyssa Lerma and Alfredo Lerma have recently developed a head coach-quarterback relationship, which they didn’t have with the Southwest Rams since she only played defense and he was an offensive play-caller. She shouldered quarterback duties last year and led the Blue Devils to a 10-5 record.

“I’m blessed to do something that I love to do,” Alfredo Lerma said. “I have a passion in coaching, and to do it with my daughter next to me, that’s big for me. Not a lot of people can say they can do that.”

Anyssa Lerma said having her dad as a coach is “a love-hate relationship.”

“When I accidentally throw a bad ball, I’ll hear it from my dad,” she joked. “I love it, because it’s something not a lot of players get to have. It’s something that I’m just growing to love more and more each day.”

Mind of a QB

Lerma doesn’t have a favorite football team, but studies Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen “and a little bit of Patrick Mahomes,” she said.

Sunnyside is 7-2 and started the season 6-0, outscoring its first six opponents 223-0. The Blue Devils lost to Phoenix Desert Vista and, most recently, Tempe Corona del Sol, 27-10. The setbacks knocked Sunnyside down to fifth in the Class 6A Central standings.

“I love how we play, whether we’re winning or losing,” Alfredo Lerma said. “We don’t play scoreboard. Whether we’re down by 30 or up by 30, we continue playing until the whistle blows. That’s what I love about our team, they give you everything they have. Physically, they put their bodies on the line.”

The key to Sunnyside’s success this season “has been the chemistry the girls have on and off the field. The communication that we have each game, it has helped us through the season,” Lerma said.

The Blue Devils spend time together off the field. Their most recent team-bonding activity was painting pumpkins together as Halloween approaches.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Lerma said. “During that time, we’re not talking about football. We’re talking about friendships and everything that’s going on in our lives. Having that comfort with my teammates helps out a lot. I like spending time with them and my family.”

The off-the-field connection has helped on the field. Lerma’s top two targets this season are seniors Isela Rodriguez and Alexandra Arce-Marquez, who have a combined 89 receptions this season.

Sunnyside has two more road games against Xavier College Prep on Thursday, Oct. 30 and Tucson High on Tuesday, Nov. 4, before wrapping up the regular season hosting Southern Arizona juggernaut Marana (11-0), which is 38-3 since starting in 2023. Sunnyside’s next three opponents have a combined 24-9 record this season.

“From here on out, we’re just trying to have positive energy and be there for each other,” Lerma said. “This last game against Corona del Sol, we let one little mistake define the whole game. After talking about it with the girls, we realized that one little mistake will help us from here, so don’t let it bring us down.”

Lerma is hopeful for a strong finish to the season — and her football-playing career in high school. Lerma, who has a 3.5 GPA, received an offer to play women’s flag football at Tiffin University, a private Division II university in Ohio. Lerma has aspirations to become a travel nurse when she’s done playing sports.

For now, she’s focused on setting the elite standard of Sunnyside girls football.

“She understands her role as the quarterback, as a leader, as a captain,” Alfredo Lerma said. “I’m very proud of her.

“She does everything in her power for the team to be successful.”

Fast Five with Anyssa

What’s one song you have to listen to before a game?

One song I have to listen to is “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake.

What’s your favorite postgame meal?

Açai bowl. That always hits.

What’s your favorite subject in school?

A lot of people think it’s odd, but I love English a lot. I love writing.

If you could have any actress play you in a movie, who would you choose?

That’s a tricky one. I don’t know her name, but have you seen Pitch Perfect? Fat Amy, man. I love her. She’s awesome.

If you could add any player to Sunnyside’s roster, who would you choose?

Cam Skattebo. I’ve been watching him since ASU, I love that guy. He’s got good energy.