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Daniella de Oliveira, Akela Martin shine at 1st-ever Orlando All-American Exposure Camp for girls flag football

Story by (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)Chris Hays, Orlando SentinelMon, February 16, 2026 at 2:26 AM UTC·3 min readThe ponytails were flopping and the eyelashes were flapping at West Orange High on Saturday afternoon, but don’t think the girls participating in the first-ever Orlando All-American Exposure Camp weren’t just as intense as the boys from the morning session. Nearly 30 players took the field in a sport that is quickly becoming America’s fastest growing competition. The 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles will feature both men’s and women’s flag football, the NFL just began sponsorship for a new women’s flag league and NCAA Power 4 programs are reacting fast, many soon to be offering up scholarships for competition. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn Saturday, Daniella “Dani” de Oliveira of Braden River was hands down the most dominating athlete on the field, and she earned the overall camp MVP, while the defensive MVP went to Akela Martin, a sophomore rusher/defensive back at Sanford Seminole. Photos: All-American Exposure Camp, girlsOliveira, a receiver/running back for her high school team, showed elite talent in most every skill position and even made some coaches working the camp wonder if she even might even be a good quarterback. The 5-foot-5 de Oliveira, who worked out mostly at receiver Saturday, showed adept ball skills catching the football and her quick feet presented a challenge for defensive backs trying to cover her routes. The senior-to-be is fast, and she turned in the fastest camp times in the 40-yard dash (5.4 seconds), the 5-10-5-yard shuttle and the L-drill. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I worked really hard and I feel really good about [winning MVP],” said de Oliveira, who was presented with a $100 dollar check from AAE as a scholarship donation.

Daniella de Oliveira, Akela Martin shine at 1st-ever Orlando All-American Exposure Camp for girls flag football

Credit: (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

Key Highlights

  • “It’s probably my favorite sport.
  • I’ve played volleyball, weightlifting and soccer and I ended up picking flag football to continue with.“I think it’s growing and I’m definitely thinking about going to college for it.”She’s hoping more scholarship opportunities, which are mostly available at NAIA-level programs, will develop in the near future.
  • Nebraska was recently the first Power 4 program to offer women’s flag football as a scholarship sport, and it is expected that many programs will follow suit.“I’ve talked to a few [college coaches], but they’re all smaller than D-I,” de Oliveira said. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMartin’s aggressive nature as a defensive rusher proved to be nearly too much for all quarterbacks at the camp, as she rarely gave the QBs any time to set up to throw the football.“It feels great.
  • It was nice to be able to show off my skills and meet a bunch of new girls and talk to new coaches.
  • It was nice to show off what I can do,” Martin said.
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Sources

  1. Daniella de Oliveira, Akela Martin shine at 1st-ever Orlando All-American Exposure Camp for girls flag football

This quick summary is automatically generated using AI based on reports from multiple news sources. The content has not been reviewed or verified by humans. For complete details, accuracy, and context, please refer to the original published articles.

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