October 26, 2023
By Amanda Scurlock
Sports Editor
King/Drew senior quarterback Ty’Yanna Passmore has been playing flag football since she was in middle school. Her athleticism, experience and leadership have helped the Golden Eagles to a 14-4 overall record and a 10-1 Coliseum record.
Passmore also competed in King/Drew’s League of Champions team. An important lesson she learned was to have trust and patience when dealing with her teammates.
“I have also been having a lot of mistakes, ups and downs and I just feel like I have the ability to teach them and to also let them know that mistakes are okay,” Passmore said. “Just keep their heads up and let them know that they can be as big as they want to be.”
The Golden Eagles flaunt an effective passing game; the team has scored as many as 42 points in a single game. Trust is at the core when Passmore targets her teammates.
“Even though some throws might be tight, I still have to trust them,” she said. “I can’t just target certain people because that’s not fair, so having trust and just knowing that it’s still a whole game that we could play no matter what it happens.”
To kick off the season, King/Drew competed in an exhibition game against Crenshaw at SoFi Stadium during halftime of the Rams vs Raiders game in August. Passmore enjoyed the opportunity to compete.
“It was so cool, it was very fun,” she said. "A good first-time experience and I just hope we could do it again.”
Along with playing flag football, Passmore competes in shot put during track and field season. She notices how the event helps her with throwing skills in flag football.
“Because, since it’s like a heavy ball, if I know how to maintain the heavy ball then the football should be more direct and just help me with my aim,” Passmore said.
To Passmore, the foundation of being a good student athlete is being dedicated to academics and athletics.
“But I feel like it’s mostly school too because you can’t play the sport if you don’t have good grades,” she said.
Passmore is a senior ambassador at King/Drew, her favorite classes are English and Psychology. She aspires to get a career in the medical field and continue to excel in the sport of flag football.
“My future goal is to go further into flag football,” Passmore said. “Even help girls in flag football and help them get better and go however far in flag football they want to go.”