USA Summer Football Series in Los Angeles a major success for top-notch Tucson-area flag football players & coaches

Share

Tweet

Share

Share

Email

Jet Sports Training owner Bobby Rodriguez stated the Southern Arizona contingent at the USA Football Summer Series at Los Angeles over the weekend represented Tucson in a “big way.”

That was an apt description considering eight athletes from Southern Arizona competed in the prestigious flag football event and four coaches from Tucson, including Rodriguez, took part. The group also shows how advanced the sport is in the Tucson area, largely because of how Toby Bourguet developed the Tucson Turf Elite program over the last couple of decades.

USA Football, the National Governing Body of American Football responsible for selecting Team USA Football for international events, including the 2028 Summer Olympics, determined the Select Teams and coaches that took part in the event at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles.

The Select Bowl is the championship event of USA Football’s National Team Development Program, which hosts Talent ID Camps in partnership with NFL Clubs nationwide throughout the year. Select Team athletes compete in front of U.S. National Team personnel and evaluators for the chance to earn invitations to 2027 U.S. National Team Trials.

This year’s Select Bowl featured eight divisions with four teams each, including ones for 12U boys and girls, 14U boys and girls, 16U boys and girls, 18U girls and 23U women. All athletes competed in 5-on-5 Olympic-style flag football while learning from some of the nation’s top coaches.

Select Bowl is part of USA Football’s Summer Series that brought together approximately 1,000 athletes and team personnel from across the country and around the world. As part of the event, Team USA Football’s U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams faced Canada in exhibition play on Friday with both teams preparing for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championship.

The week featured the Junior International Cup, with 15U and 17U boys’ and girls’ teams from Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, South Korea and the U.S. competing for gold medals. There was also Stars & States, a new National Team Development Program event with athletes from California, Florida, Texas and the Tri-State developing their skills for future opportunities.

Here is a rundown of who was in Los Angeles from Southern Arizona (all the athletes compete for Tucson Turf):

Junior International Event

— Kendren Bourguet (Salpointe), Boys 17U Team USA, gold medal

— Isla Collins (Salpointe), Girls 17U Team USA, silver medal

Select Bowl

— Rylen Bourguet (Salpointe and Arizona State), Women 23U Team USA, silver medal

— Deztany Toyota-Villalobos (Buena), Girls 18U Team USA, silver medal

— Emeron Bourguet (Salpointe), Boys 16U Team USA White, gold medal

— Logan Allen (Salpointe), Boys 16U Team USA White, gold medal

— Gavin Hynd (Salpointe), Boys 16U Team USA Blue, silver medal

— Jacoby Strebing (Leman East), Boys 12U Team USA, gold medal (All-Tournament team)

Coaches from Southern Arizona at the USA Football Summer Series included:

— Toby Bourguet, the Godfather of 7-on-7 and flag football in the Tucson area. He owns Tucson Turf and operates and coaches the Tucson Turf Elite flag football/7-on-7 teams. Bourguet coached the Girls 18U Red Team in the Select Bowl over the weekend.

— Barrie Pedersen, who led Salpointe to a state championship in flag football last season in the first year of the program’s existence. He coached the White Team of the Girls 16U Select Bowl to a gold medal.

— Rodriguez, who served as a performance coach working all the players who competed. His duties included getting the players prepared through fitness drills.

— Abbey Rustand, the offensive coordinator for Arizona’s club flag football program, was the head coach of the Girls 12U that won a silver medal. She also plays the sport and was an ambassador for the non-profit Tucson Gridiron League. It is a competitive and recreational flag football and contact league that hosts year-round 5-on-5, 6-on-6, and 7-on-7 tournaments and divisions for men, women, co-ed, and youth players.