Ariel Jacobs might be small, but her impact is massive.
Jacobs is a senior at Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, and she’s always been a great athlete.
She’s a soccer star in the fall, but her passion is in the spring when it’s time to break out the flags.
Jacobs is a running back and a pass rusher for the Rush flag football team, a sport that started in recent years and has gained steam every year. The Eagles sponsor the flag football league in the city, where teams from both the Catholic and Public leagues compete.
Jacobs didn’t wait until the Eagles made the sport cool, though.
“I’ve been playing since I was 11 and I loved how I could play a sport that’s for women, I love to see that it’s very involved for girls and women,” said Jacobs, who lives in Mayfair. “It’s a sport that I’m proud to play. I love the community, I’ve met so many great people in my years playing it.
“I’ve been playing rusher my whole life, and I feel like it suits mostly what I’m good at, my abilities. I’m quick, and that’s great for the position. And at running back, it helps that I’m short, I’m only 5 foot 1, and I’m quick, so it’s harder for people to get my flags, so it’s kind of an advantage. I do think people underestimate me because of my size, but I don’t see it like that. And teams talk and communicate with each other, so I think most people know about me. I like it, it’s fun when teams try to stop you.”
Try is the key word.
Teams haven’t had much luck stopping Jacobs, and it’s why she turns so many heads when she runs by foes on the field. She didn’t just get the attention of her opponents.
Next year, Jacobs will continue her flag football career at Eastern University in St. Davids. She committed there recently and is excited about getting a chance to play the sport she loves so much at the next level.
She likes everything she’s seen thus far, the school, the football team and she is looking forward to playing for coach Amanda Ruller.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “It was really nice, I loved the atmosphere, the coach was so sweet, I met with the men’s football team, they’re so chill. I loved the whole atmosphere.
“It has everything. I did want to stay local, I really didn’t want to go too far. My first offer was in Kansas. That was nice, but pretty far. I kept my options opened, I considered it. I waited a while, and a lot of coaches reached out. But Eastern was the best fit.”
A strong student in the classroom, the photography major at Rush is looking to find the perfect career at Eastern.
“I’m going to be a chemistry major, and forensics minor,” Jacobs said. “I’ve been learning chemistry my sophomore year and I’ve always been really into science. I want to have a job where I can make a difference. I want to be a forensic toxicologist and help the community in some kind of way.”
This winter, Jacobs is doing her best to stay in shape and prepare for her final season.
In previous seasons, she played for a club flag football team, but this year is focusing on other things.
She did play soccer for Rush and led them to a strong season. She was a defensive midfielder and defender who led her team to the District 12 championship game where it fell to Ryan.
“We had a really good year, I think we were all very proud of what we did,” Jacobs said. “We got to the championship to play against Ryan. And we worked hard. Our team was complemented a lot by many coaches and we all did really good. I’m proud of the season we had.”
Jacobs has not only made a strong impression with other teams in soccer and football, her football coach Dom Doyle, who previously was the football coach at Frankford, thinks the world of her.
“I’m incredibly proud of Ariel,” said Doyle, whom Jacobs credited with helping her get to Eastern. “She has been a huge part of our team since her freshman year. Since the inception of girls flag football in Philadelphia, she has been one of the faces of the league and a great ambassador for the sport.
“She might be small in stature but her heart is huge. She plays with relentless energy, aggression and passion; her work ethic is unmatched. Ariel is a natural on defense. Her speed and aggression make her a nightmare for opposing offenses.”
Jacobs has a lot of attributes to be proud of. That’s something she gets from her mom.
“My mom, actually my family, but mostly my mom have helped me so much,” Jacobs said. “When I was younger, I started playing soccer, my grandmom saw flag football and saw it and she said, “OK, we’ll try it out.’ I kept going and I knew I wanted to get better. I signed up for Eagles football camps, I did that to get better, it was regular football camp, not flag. Then I got to high school my freshman year, I played at the Linc.
“Not only was my mom a big supporter, but so was my uncle. My uncle helped me learn how to catch better and went over a lot of film with me. He also got some of the tickets to the Eagles football camps when I was younger. My mom drove me to my practices, games and tournaments. She helped me a lot. And even though she never played football (she grew up playing soccer), during offseason she would still try and help me stay in shape by practicing with me to prevent me from getting rusty.”
Now she’s living up to the lofty expectations she had for herself.
“When I was a kid, before flag football was big, I would tell everyone watch, I’m going to go pro,” Jacobs said. “Nobody believed me, people thought I was crazy. They didn’t think it would be a big sport, that’s why I got really good and worked myself because I knew one day, even if it wasn’t big, I was going to help make it big. I always wanted to play a sport in college. Now I’ve achieved a big part of my dream.”
