When Plant City High School senior Gabriela Ruiz was named a finalist for the inaugural NFL Latino Youth Honors award, presented by the NFL and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), she didn’t realize that the reward would include a paid-trip to Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII.
“It was kinda crazy because once I started getting emails with information about the trip, I realized I was going to Vegas,” she said. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into because it ended up being so much more than I could have imagined.”
The all-expenses paid trip included airfare, a three-night stay at the MGM Grand, meals and plenty of entertainment and recognition. The night they arrived, the elite finalists asked questions to a panel of Hispanic NFL employees at Top Golf, where they learned about their journeys to success. The next night, the finalists attended an awards dinner, where Ruiz received a $1,000 scholarship, and the winner was announced.
When wide receiver Peter Gonzalez, a standout football player at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, was announced as the national winner, Ruiz wasn’t disappointed. “They read our bios and he has done a ton of community service and is committed to a D-1 school,” she said. “I thought he definitely deserved it.”
The finalists also attended the Super Bowl Experience, where Ruiz, completely in her element, got the chance to throw footballs, kick field goals and run the 40-yard dash. Later that evening, they attended the NFL Honors red carpet event, where she met Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who signed her personalized jersey. “My guy friends at school were really jealous of that,” commented Ruiz.
While in Vegas, Ruiz not only learned more about the HHF and what it’s doing to help people of Latin descent, both young and old, find success but also meet the other finalists and be a part of the breakthrough in women in sports.
The NFL Latino Youth Honors award was established to recognize outstanding Hispanic and Latino high school tackle and flag football athletes from around the country for excelling both in the classroom and on the field. Ruiz, who was nominated for the award by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has a 6.9 GPA and is a standout WR/DB on Plant City’s varsity flag football team. During her two years playing varsity, she has achieved 86 flag pulls, eight interceptions on defense and 13 receptions for 126 yards on offense. As a first generation American, she embodies hard work and determination, pushing herself to excel both academically and athletically.
She is especially grateful for the Bucs commitment to girls’ flag football. The team recently hosted the Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic, presented by AdventHealth, which brought more than 100 teams and 1,500 student-athletes together to compete in the four-day tournament. Ruiz and her team played two games, winning one and losing one. She said the experience was good practice for the younger girls as they begin varsity-level play.
As this article hits the web and newsstands, Ruiz’ high school flag football career has ended. She played her last game against Durant earlier this week. She just got accepted into FSU and, while the school doesn’t host a collegiate team, she plans to look into joining an intramural league.
For Ruiz, while she’ll miss the sport, the lessons learned both on and off the field will stay with her for the rest of her life. “It’s a very family-oriented sport that involves a lot of teamwork and there’s a rush you get playing the game,” she said. “I’ve had so much fun and learned so much these past four years playing flag football.”