Elayna Trinder, who competed in track, soccer and basketball in high school, has always loved football.
So when injuries derailed her days as a javelin thrower for the Grand Canyon University track and field team, she merely needed to look across the track to Grove Fields, where the Lopes women’s flag football team practiced.
“I thought I’d give it a shot,” said Trinder, a sports and entertainment management major in the Colangelo College of Business. “So I went out and ended up being decent at it.”
Decent is an understatement.
Trinder’s longtime passion has translated to success for her and GCU Club Sports. The wide receiver and linebacker was GCU’s lone representative on the 14-player all-tournament team in the Fiesta Bowl Flag Football Classic in April at Arizona State University.
The 7-on-7 tournament was the first national collegiate event involving Division I women’s flag football programs. They included Florida, Georgia, tournament champion Central Florida, Alabama State, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Arizona State, Southern California and GCU.
“Obviously, my goal was for the team to win, and I would rather the team win than make the all-tournament team,” said Trinder, who underwent right elbow surgery shortly after the Fiesta Classic. “But I'll take one.”
Among the observers were representatives from Team USA, the USA Olympic Committee and the NCAA, Trinder said.
Her all-tournament selection "is a phenomenal achievement, and it speaks directly to her hard work that has transferred to the national stage," said Dan Nichols, GCU director of Club Sports and the women's flag football administrator.
Her investment in flag football runs deeper than just the performance side. She loves the mental side of the sport, from learning which pass routes to run on offense to studying offensive schemes while playing linebacker.
She believes those traits have helped her become a better athlete. It also has helped her with her side job – offensive coordinator at Shadow Ridge High School – her alma mater in Surprise, Arizona.
“I didn't get this opportunity (in high school), so I want to be able to get back to the girls that come and watch me play,” Trinder said. “That's one of my favorite parts – seeing all the youth out there watching us on and giving back to them. It's been great to be able to grow the sport into something it hasn't done before.”
Flag football for women has exploded nationally. During the 2025-26 season, 16 state associations sanctioned girls' flag football, and 18 states participated in independent/pilot programs, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
More than 150 NCAA schools offer women’s flag football at the varsity or club level, and it will be a medal sport at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with GCU competing in the National Club Football Association during the 2026-27 season.
Trinder’s dedication to the sport is so deep that she often starts her day attending classes at GCU before driving to Shadow Ridge to coach and then return to GCU for practice. She also worked as a game operations assistant last spring at GCU.
"I look forward to her leading our team moving forward," Nichols said. "Women's flag football is exploding at the club level, which I think will find a home for more than 100 teams next season."
Last summer, Trinder played on the Blue team, which won the 23U women’s competition in USA Football’s annual Select Bowl in Los Angeles, featuring many of the nation’s top players. But participating in the Fiesta Bowl provided a unique experience that blended camaraderie with strong interest for growth in the sport.
“Everybody was friends with every different team,” Trinder said. “Usually when we play ASU, they're our rivals ... (But) we're all friends on and off the field. We were all growing the sport together, so it was a unique atmosphere.”
The players exchanged notes on what programs had to offer, from scholarships to facilities, Trinder confirmed.
Upon enrolling at GCU in fall 2024, Trinder said she “tried a few majors” before settling on sports and entertainment management, “and I absolutely love it.” She is particularly interested in the operations side of sports, especially after watching Arizona Cardinals home games.
She also appreciates the support of her parents. Last fall, her mom, Noelle Trinder was inducted into the GCU Hall of Fame. Noelle, a 2003 graduate, is the senior director of health care careers at Banner Health and serves on the Arizona Education Economic Commission.
Her dad, Nick Trinder, was a professional snowmobile rider who once competed in the Winter X Games, Elayna said.
“My dad understood the sports side and helped me train,” Elayna said. “My mom was there for my school stuff. It was a great balance. I liked having both of them there for my different needs.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
