Kicker Kristie Elliott is used to walking into the locker room backwards.
As the lone woman on Simon Fraser UniversityB次元官网网址檚 football team, Elliott knows her male teammates could be in various states of undress and sheB次元官网网址檚 found the unique entrance acts as a bit of a warning.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 want to see anything,B次元官网网址� she said with a laugh.
ItB次元官网网址檚 taken some adaptations, but Elliott has broken new ground for women in college sports. The 21 year old booted a pair of successful conversions against OregonB次元官网网址檚 Linfield University on Sept. 11, becoming the first Canadian woman to play in B次元官网网址� and score in B次元官网网址� an NCAA football game.
The milestone was B次元官网网址渒ind of overwhelming,B次元官网网址� said the fourth-year psychology major.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 just going out there, playing football, doing something that I love to do,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 just love the game of football and IB次元官网网址檓 just proud of myself that I got to go out there and play my first game.B次元官网网址�
ElliottB次元官网网址檚 love of the game is relatively recent.
It started in 2019 when she bet an SFU football player $40 that she could kick a 40-yard field goal. Elliott was athletic, a hurdler on the universityB次元官网网址檚 track and field team and a longtime soccer player, but sheB次元官网网址檇 never kicked a football before.
Inexperience didnB次元官网网址檛 stop her from trying, though, and, while Elliott said it wasnB次元官网网址檛 pretty, she made the kick and sent the football player video evidence of her achievement.
Soon, she was getting messages from other guys from the team encouraging her to try out. Eventually she got in touch with the head coach, who told her she had potential.
B次元官网网址淚 said B次元官网网址楥oach, I donB次元官网网址檛 know anything about football. IB次元官网网址檝e never even seen a full game, I canB次元官网网址檛 tell you any rules. I know what a touchdown is, thatB次元官网网址檚 pretty much it,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Elliott said.
After some reassurance, Elliott hired a kicking coach and started studying the game. Then she headed to training camp.
The first team meeting was a B次元官网网址渧ery intimidating experience.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚 walk in there and heads turn and everyone was looking at me,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 remember some of the guys saying they thought I was the team trainer. I got asked if I was a teammateB次元官网网址檚 girlfriend.B次元官网网址�
Elliott made the team in 2019 but struggled mentally because she was new to the sport. She didnB次元官网网址檛 play a game that season.
B次元官网网址淚 felt like I had a lot of pressure on myself and like I had to prove something to myself because I was on the team,B次元官网网址� she said.
SFU B次元官网网址� which is located in Burnaby, B.C., but plays football in the NCAAB次元官网网址檚 Division II Great Northwest Conference B次元官网网址� didnB次元官网网址檛 play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so ElliottB次元官网网址檚 debut was postponed until earlier this month.
B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 worked her butt off. Everything sheB次元官网网址檚 gotten she deserves,B次元官网网址� said Jerome Erdman, the teamB次元官网网址檚 defensive coordinator. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of pressure on her and sheB次元官网网址檚 handled it very well.B次元官网网址�
Elliott faces obstacles as the only woman on the team, Erdman said, from speculation over whether sheB次元官网网址檚 a B次元官网网址減ublicity stuntB次元官网网址� to not being able to physically be with her teammates in the locker room at times.
SheB次元官网网址檚 overcome each challenge, he said, and is beloved by the 100 or so teammates who act like her older brothers.
B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 part of the team,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd everybody knows what sheB次元官网网址檚 had to do to be amongst us. And they take that to heart and really respect her.B次元官网网址�
FootballB次元官网网址檚 a team sport, even for a kicker, Elliott noted. In order to send a ball sailing through the uprights, she needs to trust that the blockers, snapper and holder in front of her will all do their jobs.
That trust is built through many, many reps in practice, she said, and has grown into an B次元官网网址渁bsolutely incredibleB次元官网网址� bond.
B次元官网网址淓ven on my lows, theyB次元官网网址檙e always there to support me,B次元官网网址� Elliott said.
Her teammates were quick to encourage her when she missed her first in-game field goal attempt, and theyB次元官网网址檙e the ones cheering her on in the weight room as she strives for new personal bests.
B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 heavy for me might be easy for them, but theyB次元官网网址檙e in there screaming B次元官网网址楪o Kristie! YouB次元官网网址檝e got this!B次元官网网址� Just the support is unreal,B次元官网网址� she said.
There are times, though, when Elliott needs to get away. So she was excited this week to receive keys to her very own locker room B次元官网网址� a former storage room that has been outfitted with a locker identical to the ones her male teammates use.
The new space means Elliott no longer needs to dash from the main locker room to a womenB次元官网网址檚 change room to put on her gear. She doesnB次元官网网址檛 have to enter backwards or avert her eyes. SheB次元官网网址檚 even decked out the space with a mirror and has plans to add a carpet.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 going to make it a nice little women-only locker room,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 cool to have a space where I can be by myself, with my own music B次元官网网址� not like heavy rap B次元官网网址� and have some time to myself.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擳he Canadian Press
