TAMPA, Fla. - Warm-ups are more than getting ready for a game for Leto High senior Sulieny Mejia-Mellis.

Warm-ups are like a gathering of some of her favorite people on this planet. And it helps her get ready to do one her favorite things on this planet - play flag football.

“I get to enjoy time with my friends and most of all a family,” Sulieny said. “And I also get to show what we’re made of.”

Flag football has opened up a lot of doors for Sulieny. The Falcons leading player thrives on the field. Put a football in her hands and watch out.

“She doesn’t shy away from that spotlight, that’s the beautiful think about it,” head coach Huguens Dessources said. “You have to not only embrace the spotlight, but you have to know what to do when you’re in that spotlight. And she knows what to do with it.”

This all-round athlete rarely comes off the field. She leads the Falcons in receiving yards, tackles and touchdowns.

“She’s our biggest distraction and because she is so good, she takes all the eyes towards her and then now she gets her teammates open,” Dessources said.

This senior wants all eyes on her off the field too. She dreams of becoming a professional model. With each turn of the page, Sulieny can envision herself in a magazine one day.

“I always loved fashion,” she said. “Mostly because clothes, it just brings out who you are.”

There’s something about the fashion world that makes Sulieny want to be a part of it. She started experimenting with different looks and posing for photos about a year ago. Recently, she participated in her first runway show at USF. 

“No matter how little you think you are, there’s always something that can come from that,” Sulieny said. “There’s something you can always do to better yourself, to cherish yourself and cherish everybody that’s around you.”

You don’t normally think of glamor when you think of football. But Sulieny makes the transition from the runway to the football field effortlessly. 

Flag football’s given her so much, including the opportunity to become Leto’s first college signee. But it’s more than being able to play at the next level. It’s given her confidence and the belief that she can do anything.

“I’ve learned to always stay strong, to always believe in myself,” she said. “Let someone prove me wrong and to have the state of mind to always believe what I believe and to always do great.”