By Rubin E. Grant
Identical twins Ella and Abby Gallaspy had been wanting to play football for some time.
They would go out in their Vestavia Hills neighborhood and play throw and catch.
“We had a really good time,” Abby said. “I always thought, ‘Why can’t we play football?’”
When the Alabama High School Athletic Association sanctioned flag football as a sport in 2021, the Gallaspy twins jumped at the chance to play for Vestavia Hills’ team.
“I was super excited when I heard about it,” Ella said. “I’m very competitive and I love football, so I like having the opportunity to play.”
This fall, Ella and Abby, who are seniors, are enjoying splendid seasons, helping the Rebels to an 8-1 record. They won four games last week, beating Homewood 33-0 and Spain Park 20-0 at home and Central-Phenix City (26-18) and Smiths Station (26-7) on the road.
Ella, who throws left-handed, plays quarterback and Abby plays linebacker.
“They are very athletic,” Vestavia Hills coach Debra Broome said. “Ella is a pretty good quarterback. She was our quarterback last year. Abby does a good job collecting flags and we rush her a lot too.”
Ella, the older of the two by a minute, loves being the quarterback. She accounted for several touchdowns in three of the Rebel’s four wins last week.
“It’s a very difficult position from a skill standpoint, learning to make all the throws,” she said. “But it’s also a lot of fun.”
Abby says it’s a funny story how she wound up on defense instead of catching passes from her sister.
“I had a hard time memorizing all the plays,” she said with a laugh. “We don’t have arm bands like you see in football and for the life of me I couldn’t remember the plays, so they put me on defense.”
Music and Sports
Playing flag football has become a bit of a balancing act for the twins because both also play in the Vestavia Hills marching band. Ella plays snare drum in the drum line and Abby plays the saxophone.
They had to miss the game against Homewood last week because of a band competition.
“It’s time consuming and there are some conflicts, but it’s all worth it in the end,” Ella said.
The twins’ dad, James Gallaspy, played in the Million Dollar Band at Alabama, and their older brother Grayson Gallaspy was a saxophone player. They were instrumental in the musical instruments the twins play.
“I chose to do percussions because my dad’s side of the family played drums and I’ve always liked it,” Ella said. “I started playing drums in the sixth grade and have loved it ever since.”
Abby said, “My brother did band and played the sax, so in the sixth grade I started playing sax and really enjoyed it.”
If flag football and band weren’t enough, Ella and Abby also play softball for the Rebels. Ella plays center field and Abby plays right field. They have been playing softball for 13 years.
Both are trying to decide whether they want to continue their athletic careers in college. Ella said she plans to attend Alabama, where her older brother is a student, but won’t try to play softball in college. She is hoping to play flag football, but right now it’s only an intramural sport at Alabama.
Abby remains up in the air. “It’s been a struggle for me, trying to decide if I want to play college softball,” she said.
Looking Toward State
In the meantime, they are trying to help bring Vestavia Hills a state flag football championship.
The AHSAA divided teams into 16 areas this season. The Rebels are in an area that includes Spain Park and Oak Mountain. Vestavia Hills was scheduled to play at Oak Mountain Tuesday as part of a tri-match that included Carver-Birmingham.
The top two teams from each area will advance to qualifying tournaments. There will be eight qualifying tournaments with four teams in each tournament. The winner of the tournament will qualify for the season-ending state tournament. The state championship game will be played Nov. 30 as part of the Super 7 Championships in football at Auburn.
“I think we have a very talented team,” Abby said. “We’ve definitely progressed since last year.”
Ella added, “My goal is to get to the state championship game. We have the potential to get there. We’re working hard and we’re working to get better.”
