ATHERTON, Calif. — The freshman runs a hitch-and-go for Menlo School on a play called “X train.”
This is Laila Young’s first flag football game, but she looks like she played in a previous life, moving so smoothly and decisively. Her sister, Summer, a senior, is also a natural, covering big chunks of turf with long strides.
Laila plays the X position — “I tell her she’s John Taylor, the most underappreciated athlete in history,” her father says. Summer is the Z — “Jerry Rice’s position,” Dad says.
The route Laila runs is a good one, but she has to come back for an underthrown pass.