Thursday was the Niners' open practice day at their Santa Clara facility, but young female fans are no longer just spectators on the sidelines.
When the 49ers stars took to the field in Santa Clara, 14-year-old Isis Choudhury was taking notes on everything she saw.
“I love the roughness, I love the competitiveness, I love running, I love making plays, I love seeing the ball and catching it,” Choudhury said.
But she's not just talking as a fan. Isis is part of a new generation of female football players. Last season, she was named MVP of her team, which won the Vallejo Girls Flag Football League, sponsored by the 49ers.
She's scored touchdowns on offense and defense as a receiver and safety and has the championship rings to prove it.
“For me, everything about soccer is great. I absolutely love it,” she said.
Isis came to 49ers practices with her stepfather, Brian Chatman, a high school and college football star in Texas who introduced Isis to football.
“She exceeded expectations in every way. I didn't expect her to go this far. She went out and won matches, played aggressively, used everything she had and proved me and a lot of other people wrong,” Chatman said.
Isis went through a difficult time after her father, Nadem Choudhury, died in a car accident two years ago, and playing football was her way of easing the pain.
“It was really hard, so I just wanted to work harder for him and tell him everything was going to be OK, that everything was going to be OK because I was going to work harder,” she said.
Nearly 500,000 girls will play high school flag football in 2023, up 63% from the previous year, according to the National Association of State High School Associations.
Isis had never played soccer before and despite facing doubts from the boys at her school, the growth of women's soccer came at a good time for her.
“Because I'm a girl, I can't play, I'm spoiled, I'm not rough enough, I'm not like the boys who can tackle. So I wanted to prove them wrong and set a good image for all the girls and women who work hard and deserve it,” Choudhury added.
She plans to attend high school next year and hopes to continue developing and playing sports in college, if possible.
She looks at the 49ers players on the field, especially Nick Bosa, as role models.
And just like all the fans around her, she was thrilled to meet number 97.
For Isis and other girls who love soccer, dreams are starting to come true both on and off the field.
