ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When you see Myesha Hill on the football field, it’s as if she’s played for years.
But the senior is a newbie.
What You Need To Know
- Gibbs High School Flag Football player Myesha Hill has made an immediate impact on the team
- Hill was ineligible to play due to poor grades after getting involved with the wrong crowd, but ultimately it was her love for sports that led her back
- Her grades improved after spending hours in the classroom and is motivated by her coach and peers
“I finally came out my senior year and started playing,” Hill said.
Hill made an immediate impact on Gibbs High School’s Flag Football team. Head coach Alvin Shirley said Hill has a natural ability.
“Myesha is an incredible, elite athlete,” Shirley said. “We’ve been waiting for Myesha’s desire to improve her academics to catch up to her athletic ability and we are thankful that it happened this season.”
Shirley has seen Hill transform on and off the field.
“She has just exploded on the scene. A lot of people are surprised by what she’s doing, but I always knew she was capable.”
Hill was ineligible to play due to poor grades after getting involved with the wrong crowd. Ultimately it was her love for sports that led her back.
“It’s like I missed out on a lot, so I got to get it back so that’s what I’m doing now, proving everyone wrong.”
She spent countless hours in the classroom, her grades drastically improved.
“It all comes from a determination inside because she had to want to change what she was doing academically in the classroom, she had to do that for herself and once she did that it opened up doors of opportunity for her," Shirley said.
She’s among the top 10 in the state in receptions, yards and touchdowns.
Quarterback Destiny Lockett says Hill has become a role model for her teammates.
“Myesha adds leadership, she adds a lot to the team, a lot of teams target her because she’s a good route runner, she’s a good catcher and she’s going to up-top anybody,” Lockett said.
It’s not only opponents who took notice, but college coaches too.
“We went to the Buccaneers preseason classic, and this coach came to look at someone else, but he saw Myesha doing incredible things,” Shirley said. “From there he just started following her and it led up to being offered a scholarship."
Hill was recently named Gibbs’ “Turnaround Student of the Year;” her story sending a strong message.
“Follow the right path don’t let no one bring you down because that’s what I did, I was with the wrong people and the wrong crowd.”
Hill found the right people – her coaches and teammates, who motivated her to become the best she could be.