Exactly a year ago, Alessandra Gerut wasn’t involved in flag football at all. But in June 2025, the rising Oak Park and River Forest High School sophomore got a football in her hands thanks to the encouragement of now-senior Elianna Brucato.
Life changed.
As a running back last fall for the Huskies, playing with Brucato and a powerful group of teammates, it didn’t take her long to prove she had special skills.
That was corroborated in March when Gerut was invited to the USA Football U16 Select Bowl, June 17-20 … in Los Angeles. It’s the top-flight event for the National Team Development Program, and according to her OPRF coach, Jim Geovanes, it’s “the pipeline to the Olympics.”
Success at the Select Bowl in no way guarantees Gerut a spot on the national team, but still it’s a chance to showcase her talents on a national stage through accelerated drills and game play. Where it goes from there could land her in the Games someday with a Team USA jersey.
Geovanes said she has the skills to shine in L.A.
“She’s as strong a girl as you can see,” he said. “Athleticism through the roof. What she does really well is run straight. She is so fast in the open field. The thing she developed the most the last year is her hands.
“Once you got her in open space, good luck catching her.”
But while Gerut is a friendly sort with a bubbly personality, she tends to keep things in perspective. Case in point is crediting other sports for developing her flag football prowess.
“I’ve played softball since I was young and then did track,” she said, adding she also played volleyball as an OPRF freshman. “That athleticism from those things helped me to play the sport. I’ve improved learning how to play and adjusting and learning to sharpen my routes.”
There’s one other intangible.
“A big thing was also confidence because when I started out, I didn’t know all those things,” she said, adding that Geovanes and his coaching staff taught her what she needed to know, thus building that confidence.
Gerut was one of hundreds of players who participated in a tryout in March, hosted by the Chicago Bears at the Bridgeview Sports Dome. There, she took part in events like the broad jump, shuttle run and 40-yard dash along with football-specific skills.
She was the only U16 player who advanced to Los Angeles. In fact, only three players from Chicago made it through – Gerut and girls from Maine South and Chicago Kenwood.
“I was overwhelmed at first, and so we kind of helped each other out,” Gerut said of her time at Bridgeview. “It was a great experience to meet all those girls. My coach was really great, he pushed everybody to realize our potential.”
Geovanes himself was there as well, coaching three sessions involving “easily 500 kids per session.” That should give you an idea of the scale, and also what Gerut accomplished.
Her reaction to being chosen … especially after USA Football had to call her mom to deliver the good news after she missed an email?
“I did scream,” she said with a laugh. “I came to school the next day and people were congratulating me. The support from OPRF has been incredible.”
National team and Olympic aspirations aside, it’s anybody’s guess where this ends, Geovanes said, but “it’s going to be really good for her. I think it’s going to end with a high-level D1 scholarship because a lot of schools are looking at her.”