One phone call. One idea.
One student-athlete ready to take the first drive.
Sofia Del Grosso, a junior physical education student at Montclair State University, was sitting at her dining room table one January evening when her phone rang. It was a call from a number she did not recognize. Normally, she would not answer.
But this time, she did.
“It was Kyle Bianchi, assistant director of facilities, intramural and club sports for the Student Recreation Center,” said Del Grosso. “He told me, ‘Hey, your name was recommended to us, do you want to start a club flag football team?’”
Little did she know that phone call in 2025 would mark the beginning of something never done before at Montclair State University: the first-ever women’s flag football program.
Del Grosso always had a love for flag football. She played as a quarterback her junior and senior year at Indian Hills High School, but her true enthusiasm began with playing football as a little girl.
Growing up, she was the only girl in a neighborhood full of boys, and that game was everywhere, in the streets, the backyard and even in the snow.
“The guys always wanted me to play football with them,” said Del Grosso. “However, my mom always said, ‘No, you’re too little. You’re going to get hurt. ‘It’s a bunch of boys.'”
Despite her mother’s warnings, Del Grosso found ways to get on the field, whether it was playing two-hand touch, street football or even tackle snow football with the boys.
Those early experiences originated the aptitude and ambition she would later have to initiate Montclair State University’s first-ever women’s flag football team.
Montclair State flag football is in its first season as an NCAA sport, a rapid expansion after Sofia Del Grosso started the club team in early 2025. Tim David | The Montclarion
Starting a brand-new team entirely on her own posed a monumental challenge, so Del Grosso partnered with her friend and fellow student-athlete from the women’s club basketball team, Brianna Pares, along with staff from the Student Recreation Center. Together, they organized a photoshoot to promote the addition of women’s flag football at Montclair State University on Instagram and created a GroupMe.
“I could tell that she was very dedicated towards making the flag football team come to life,” said Pares. “We were on a search to find players to have the vision of a team becoming something that would eventually make history.”
The Instagram post successfully drew more than 40 women to the GroupMe, and Del Grosso began creating a practice schedule that would set the foundation for the program’s establishment.
For a month and a half, Del Grosso effectively served as both a player and a coach, taking on the full responsibility of running practices, organizing drills and managing the team’s logistics. Her leadership kept the team steadily advancing until Jim Kelly was hired as the program’s first head coach in March of 2025.
Kelly, a former head sprint football coach at Caldwell University and an Essex County Football Hall of Fame coach, took a fondness for Del Grosso’s commitment to the team, praising her capability of building a camaraderie.
“She is an innovative leader in the program,” said Kelly. “For a young lady to start a club team tells you a lot about her.”
As a team, Del Grosso, Kelly and the rest of the women built a competitive program, turning a student-led club into an officially recognized NCAA Division III team now playing its inaugural season.
Now, the team trains under a consistent schedule. Practices are held five days a week, featuring focused drills, route running, offensive plays, defensive schemes and conditioning with various games every week.
In Montclair State's first game as a varsity program, Sofia Del Grosso completed one pass for four yards, achieving a once-unrealistic dream of playing flag football at the collegiate level. Tim David | The Montclarion
What began as a simple idea has grown into something far greater than herself. Del Grosso’s leadership extends beyond organizing practices or recruiting players.
It’s reflected in the consistency, accountability and energy she brings to the field every day.
That presence has not gone unnoticed by her teammates, including wide receiver Rhianna Bueno.
“She is definitely a leader,” said Bueno. “You can tell in the way she shows up. When somebody has passion, you can see it, and when you can see it, that means there’s more than just passion there.”
To Del Grosso, flag football was never just a sport to her. It was her first love, and now, a chance to leave a mark.
