H-S Athlete of the Week: Lila Mitchell, California
Name: Lila Mitchell
School: California
Class: Freshman
Sport: Flag football, track and field
Mitchell’s week: Mitchell pulled in seven receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns in California’s flag football loss to Brentwood on March 30, then snagged seven catches for 76 yards and four touchdowns, including what proved to be the deciding score, with an interception in a 38-34 victory over Belle Vernon. In track and field, Mitchell finished first in the high jump during a quad-meet against Beth-Center, Bentworth and Waynesburg Central on March 31, and set a P.R. on Wednesday by clearing the bar at 4-10 to win the high jump again in a meet against Charleroi. She’s coming off a basketball season in which she was named to the all-section team and helped lead the Lady Trojans to a WPIAL playoff berth.
Love of football: The 6-foot Mitchell has at least one TD catch in all five of the Lady Trojans games this season and also returned an interception for a score against Thomas Jefferson. Mitchell, the 15-year-old daughter of Herbert Mitchell III (better known as Mitch Mitchell to area sports fans) and Brianne Mitchell, was a natural as a wide receiver, according to her dad. “She loved soccer right from the start and basketball she took to really well, but she’s been bugging me to play football because she liked to catch and would play during recess with the boys,” said Mitch, who is head coach of the flag football team. “She always liked it and I was watching her one day playing during a picnic and I could tell, man, she’s got it. So it’s cool we were able to start this program.” Lila prefers playing the sport over watching it. “I never watched a ton of football but I always liked to play it,” Lila said. “Learning the rules for flag was a new thing, but I think it was easier that I didn’t know any of the tackle football rules so I could kind of learn fresh. I think I took pretty well to it. But the main thing I knew was I had to catch the ball.”
Adjusting to the game: Lila had to adjust to playing a sanctioned varsity sport as opposed to pick-up games on the playground. “There’s a little less pressure on offense because you can rely on your teammates more, but defense is a lot more stressful with a bunch of girls running at you,” Lila said. “I play safety so I’m deep in the back and try not to let anything over my head.” Having designed plays was new as well. “We get a play in and then sometimes we have to improvise,” Lila said. “We try to stick to the play we’re given as much as possible but there are times something switches on defense at the last moment and then we know that play won’t work. Our quarterback (Meadow Meier) is really good at that.” Lila’s height and athletic ability make her hard to stop on offense. “Being 6-foot and being able to jump a little bit helps out a lot when I’m playing against a lot of smaller girls but who have quick hands,” she said. “Sometimes I might just tell Meadow throw it up in the back corner and I’ll just jump up and get it.” Lila recalled how thrilled she was to pull in her first touchdown catch. “It kind of showed me what our season could be,” she said. “Since then things have only gone up. We’ve played better as a team. We’ve come together and understood how each player works.”
On the track: Lila transferred from Oakland Catholic to California after the fall season for personal reasons, returning to her home district. “It became much more practical for us as a family,” Mitch said. She is relatively new to track and field. “In seventh grade I expressed interest in it to my coach and he went over it a little bit with me but we didn’t really have a ton of time to learn and get used to it,” Lila said. “So I went with my dad and we watched a few YouTube videos and that’s how I learned to high jump. Now that I’m back doing it at California I’m working with my coach and improving.”
Great bloodlines: Lila’s father Mitch was one of the great three-sport athletes to ever come out of Brownsville. A 1999 graduate, he led the Falcons to highly successful seasons in football (wide receiver/tight end), basketball (center) and baseball (first baseman/pitcher). Her mother Brianne played volleyball and basketball in high school. “It’s helped a lot to have parents who were athletes,” said Lila, who in addition to participating in track and flag football this spring is also playing for her Pittsburgh Chaos AAU basketball team. Mitch has helped coach her in several sports. “He’s always been one of my coaches so he’s certainly helped me loads throughout the years,” Lila said. “I like having him as a coach.” She intends to play volleyball for California in the fall and has played soccer in the past. “I got into soccer first when I was about four,” Lila said. “I play defense, center back. I started playing basketball in our youth league when I was in first grade.”
Hoops star: Lila’s best sport is basketball. “According to MaxPreps she was the top Class A freshman in the state in rebounds and in double-doubles in all classifications,” Mitch pointed out. A natural center, Lila willingly converted herself into a point guard for this past season, working with her dad, to help out the Lady Trojans who were lacking in ball handlers. “I think it was important for me to take a leadership role because we didn’t have a lot of upperclassmen, just one senior who was really nice and kind to everyone, and a few juniors,” Lila said. “Playing point guard was very, very new to me. I had never taken the ball up because I’m pretty tall, obviously, so I’ve pretty much always been in the post. It was kind of nice. The main thing I liked doing was passing the ball off and then moving under for the rebound.” She poured in a career-high 26 points in a win over Jefferson-Morgan. “I think I’d like to play basketball in college,” she said. “I feel that would be a good fit for me.”
Odds and ends: Lila has an older sister, Della, who is a senior at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA). … Brianne and her two daughters wrote a series of children’s books together, called The Della and Lila Book Series, that won several regional awards. They also started a nonprofit, called the River Fund for which they donate all of their merchandise sales. River Fund helps local children and families in SWPA and beyond.
— Compiled by Rob Burchianti