TUCSON, Ariz. — From Tucson to Tempe, the "Bourguet" name is synonymous with football. Trenton is a quarterback for Arizona State and he's teammates with his brother, Coben, who is a wide receiver for the Sun Devils.
Their brother, Treyson, is a quarterback at BYU and now their little sister, Rylen, is working to take her game to the next level on the football field. Rylen, a former star athlete at Tucson’s Salpointe Catholic High School, is training to be part of Team USA’s first-ever women's flag football team when the sport makes its Olympic debut in 2028.
Their parents, Vanessa and Toby Bourguet, started Tucson Turf Elite where they train and coach young flag football players. Rylen is the only girl among their six children and football has been part of their family since Vanessa and Toby met during their college years. Now Rylen is looking to make history when the Olympics come to Los Angeles in less than four years.
“Actually, we say “her story.” That's her story. Rylen’s story,” Toby said. “She wants to maximize her potential to be an Olympic athlete… Every single day we wake up and we try to pour into our children to be goal-oriented and to and to live with purpose.”
Rylen knows all about maximizing her potential as a former three-sport athlete (beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, soccer) and seven-time state champion. Girl’s flag football didn’t become an AIA-sanctioned sport until after Rylen graduated high school, but the sport was part of her formative years as a young athlete.
“You know, to play [flag football] in high school, to play in college, to have those opportunities, It's just super exciting to see that younger generation have those that chance to pursue it,” Rylen said. “My earliest memories are playing sports. Whether that's in the backyard with my brothers or playing on the flag football teams with my brothers, playing soccer, or little co-ed teams with a bunch of cousins and family friends and stuff like that… I came to ASU playing beach volleyball and now I play flag football. It's been a fun journey.”
Rylen stepped away from playing collegiate volleyball and other sports full-time to focus her attention on training for Team USA’s Women’s Flag Football team. She hopes her journey takes her to the world stage and she’s working daily to achieve that goal. She has plenty of training partners to choose from among her brothers who are fully supportive of her pursuit of this Olympic dream.
“I think everybody who's an athlete, not even an athlete, would want to be an Olympian,” Coben said. “She's right in that midst of making that team and accomplishing the goal that many have.”
Rylen has three older brothers playing Division I football, and she's thrived in competitive environments all her life. Now she’s working to beat out some of the most talented flag football players in the country for a chance to represent Team USA. Earlier this year, Rylen was chosen to compete in USA Football’s Select Bowl in L.A. where she added another championship to her accomplished resume.
“Rylen, she can do it all. She can play quarterback. She can play receiver, she can play DB and lock down your best receiver,” Trenton said. “For her, it's really just whatever the team needs at that moment, you know she's able to go and do it.”
Rylen has tryouts for the 2025 U.S. women's flag football roster coming up in February but until then, she’s playing in tournaments around the country, keeping her competition level high and training consistent. For now, it’s all about staying healthy and stacking days to make her Olympic dream a reality.
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