Passion player: Pine-Richland teacher excels at pro football

Ellisyn Mularski teaches physical education and health at Pine-Richland High School, but when that final bell rings for the day, she trades her whistle for a football helmet for her unique side job:

Playing wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Passion.

On May 4, her students and the local community will have an opportunity to see the Passion open its 2024 season at Pine-Richland Stadium.

This is Mularski’s seventh year with the Passion, although she notes that before trying out, she was not very familiar with football.

“I wanted to try something new,” she said. “I try to take every opportunity I can. I saw a flyer for tryouts and made the team.”

Mularski said not knowing much about football put her out of her comfort zone. Prior to her first preseason, she researched the game and watched film to prepare. She also relied on veteran players and coaches to help her learn.

“It really helped me to grow as a player,” she said.

Though new to football, it did not take her long to find success on the field.

Last season, she was selected to the Women’s Football Alliance All Americans-First Team, which was split into two squads to compete at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Hers, the National, beat the opposing American squad, 26-17.

Mularski has always lived an active lifestyle, playing varsity volleyball and basketball in high school. She participated in javelin and triple jump in track and field in high school and at Slippery Rock University, where she majored in school wellness education with minors in adapted physical activity and aquatics.

New to Pine-Richland for 2023-24, Mularski is in her fourth year of teaching. She said her primary goal is to influence the next generation.

“In college, I realized the impact I could have in a health setting,” she said of the opportunity she has to make a difference. In addition to teaching physical education and health, Mularski coaches middle school girls volleyball and varsity girls wrestling.

Being part of a team helps her communicate to her students that games and sports are much more than, well, games and sports.

“They’re a tool to build characteristics and to build the ability to overcome challenges,” she said.

Formed in 2002, the Pittsburgh Passion is part of the Women’s Football Alliance, which includes 56 teams in three divisions throughout the United States. The Passion is one of 14 teams in the Pro Division.

The team has more than 70 players, who “are extremely diverse,” according to Mularski.

“They range in age from 18 into their 50s,” she reported. “There are different cultures and races. Some drive in from out of state for games and practices. All have full-time jobs.”

Some played football in high school and others, like Mularski, were brand new to the sport.

“Passion is my family,” she said. “It’s an entire support system. It’s more than just a game. It’s a lifestyle and community and everlasting friendships.”

Between teaching, coaching and playing football, her days can be long.

“It requires a lot of learning how to delegate and how to manage our time to be able to show up for the team,” Mularski said.

Passion players practice a minimum of 10 hours watch film two hours per week. Preseason practices start in January, and the season often runs through July with playoffs and the alliance championship.

Mularski said that after she leaves Pine-Richland High School for the day, she eats dinner and then heads to practice, for which she usually arrives early and often stays well past 11 p.m.

For the Passion’s May 4 game against the D.C. Divas at Pine-Richland Stadium, gates open at 5 p.m. and kickoff is at 6.

Mularksi hopes her students will watch her play and be inspired.

“I think often, others think it is just a hobby or something I do on the weekends,” she said. “Or that is not real football — that because it is women’s — the time, strategy, intensity or athleticism is less. But I hope those who come to the game learn that it is real.”

Admission is $18 per person, or $12 for students, senior citizens and first responders. Visit pittsburghpassion.com for more information.