Ella Flood’s voice has become recognizable and powerful around Paul VI High School.
Flood enjoyed the winter sports season as the play-by-play announcer for her school’s girls basketball games on PVI News on YouTube. Now in the spring season, her vocal cords have another purpose. She uses them as a spark plug for her softball team.
Sometimes she is shouting words of encouragement from left field, other times she’s rallying the troops from the dugout when the Eagles are at bat. There are very few quiet moments surrounding one of Paul VI’s senior co-captains.
“I like talking,” Flood said with a laugh. “I’ve always been told I have a loud voice and people listen to me.”
The Washington Township resident grew up on 2nd Street in South Philadelphia and attended St. Mary Interparochial School at 5th and Locust Streets. She annually took part in the Mummers Parade, which weaves its way through the city and eventually down her own block. Flood continues the tradition of dressing silly in softball as the ringleader in the dugout. Oftentimes, she’s the first to reach her hand into the team “swag bag,” which contains fun costume items.
“We have a swag bag we use to get people into the game,” Flood said. “We have [Hawaiian] leis and funny glasses and a lot of good stuff. We have an RBI hat and a home run hat. I love getting the team hyped. I love being hyped. It’s my favorite thing. As soon as someone gets a hit, I love celebrating others. I love the support we have here.”
Flood is often the one being celebrated. Last season, she hit .508, scored 19 times and drove in 16 runs. She was part of a dangerous lineup that won 22 games.
“She’s a leader for sure,” said coach Alexa Massa. “We’re going to miss her next year. She’s a big, big voice on the field. The underclassmen and some of the juniors just follow in her footsteps. She gets everyone going. She’s one of the biggest presences on the team.”
Flood will continue her education at Montclair State University, where she plans on being a part of the sports program, but will do it from behind a microphone. She will study communications and journalism with hopes of providing commentary at college sporting events.
“I want to be doing play-by-play for either football or baseball,” Flood said. “Hopefully, this won’t be the last time you’re hearing from me.”
That’s doubtful.
Her teammates rely on Flood’s energy, her loud voice and her bat during every game. Paul VI returns all of its starting lineup this year, which includes a stacked lineup with North Carolina State commit Lisey St. Jean and Madison Cooley (Rowan University) providing additional senior leadership. Younger sluggers Danielle Audet, Morgan Chambers, Quinn Cunningham and Camryn Harry all also batted over .400 last year.
“Expectations are going to be the same as last year,” Massa said. “We want to go further in the playoffs, but we’re also just trying to do the little things right. We want them to play every game like it’s their last.”
Flood wants to savor every one of them, whether they are her own softball games or other sports around school. Aside from providing commentary on girls basketball games, she takes photos and videos of other events while making hype videos for other classmates.
“She’s a great student and she does a lot for her high school and sports,” Massa said. “She’s extremely involved.”
And she’s hoping to make the spring season a memorable one.
“It’s the last ride with my teammates,” Flood said. “We’ve built a very good program here these last four years. It’s been really great working with the girls here and playing these games. I’m just excited to play my last season with them.”
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