Christian Myrick is waving his flag proudly for Team USA.
It’s already been a summer of dreams for the Deer Park rising 10th grader, who just won gold with America at the USA Football Junior International Cup in Los Angeles, cementing his status as one of the nation’s best flag football stars for his age.
“I expected football to go well … but I never thought Team USA would happen,” the speedy wideout and defensive back told The Post.
Myrick displayed his moxie over nearly 1,800 of the nation’s best flag stars who were 15 and under for months leading up to the June games.
“It made me proud because I honestly didn’t even want to try out, because I didn’t think I was going to make it,” Myrick said.
“I’m glad I did,” added the teen, who had a leaping 50-yard touchdown in the 47-14 championship win against Japan.
Passing expectations
Myrick obviously doesn’t give himself enough credit.
He was a varsity football star at Deer Park in his freshman year, playing wherever coach Cody Ciolino needed him — whether it was quarterback, running back or safety in addition to the then-14-year-old’s usual roles with the Falcons.
“When we take a step back this year and look at it, he accomplished all this as a 14-year-old,” Ciolino said of his all-state athlete, who boasted 12 touchdowns and 825 yards.
“He has that natural leadership. As a freshman, there were kids, juniors, seniors, that were looking up to him.”
After all, football is in Myrick’s DNA.
His older brother, Matthew, is a defensive lineman at Post University, and Myrick’s dad, Rodney, was a semi-pro player who fostered Christian’s love for the game.
“My dad would coach from the sidelines to help me out and see things that I didn’t see,” Myrick said. “It helped a lot.”
There is one more member of the Myrick clan who got Christian ready for his big break — his older sister, rising 12th-grader Olivia.
“My sister actually started out playing tackle with me before flag,” he said.
“I would play up, she would play down, and we would be playing together on the same team.”
Flag bearer
Playing the game at the collision level only made Myrick better at flag, pushing him to work on his jukes and other finesse moves to keep opponents from grabbing his cloth.
It became routine for him to play in tournaments all over the Northeast, where Myrick’s name became synonymous with winning.
Myrick has a casual 40-plus championship rings — and some medals — in his five years of flag play.
“What I really want is to add a varsity title to the ring collection,” Myrick said.
“And an Olympic gold medal,” added the teenager, who dreams of playing for either Ohio State or LSU — before catching passes from Jaxson Dart as a New York Giant.
For now, Myrick is thriving in being a hometown hero and wants to keep making Deer Park proud.
“It’s been great; my friends actually started calling me Team USA,” Myrick said, laughing.
Ciolino also has high hopes for what Myrick will bring to the field when wearing shoulder pads.
“I think he should have everyone in Deer Park excited with his ability,” the coach added.
Along with preparing for tryouts with Team USA’s 17-and-under roster, the high-flying Falcon wants to cement success in his other sports: as a shooting guard in basketball and a talented runner in the spring.
“I want to have a bigger role. I know I have a pretty big role in football, but in the other sports, I feel like I can do better,” Myrick said.
“I want to make sure I get that done.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
