Page 60 November 2016 Our Riverview location is just 15 minutes from Arcadia Don’t lose their skills - swim once a week all fall and winter! Heated indoor pool & small class sizes FREE BABY SPLASH ages 8 wks - 5 mos LITTLE SNAPPERS ages 6 - 35 mos GROUP LESSONS ages 3 - 12 yrs HUBBARDSWIM.COM · 602.971.4044 SPLASH, PLAY & LEARN! Redefining Swim Lessons since 1998 By Ian Kraft Kierstyn Wright said her love of football came from a game she played with her father called “Patterns”. “My dad and I started this game with all of my friends where we huddled up and he would give us patterns to run,” said Kierstyn. “He would throw us the ball and I realized I was pretty good at it, and I loved it.” With her first year of flag football completed, 11-year-old Kierstyn headed into sixth grade with an agreement to her father that although her passion was catching footballs, she would play volleyball instead. Within a couple of days however, Kierstyn already missed the gridiron. “I just didn’t like it at all,” Kierstyn said of her first two days of volleyball. “I went home that night and said, ‘Dad, I need to try out for football, I need to try out right now.’” First-year Head Football Coach Carlos Ravelo was approached the next day by one of Kierstyn’s close friends, who told him that Kierstyn was interested in playing for his team. “I just said, ‘Well, if she wants to play, have her come on out. Tryouts are right now.’ The next day, there she was,” Ravelo said. “Since minute one, she shocked me. We threw her some balls and bam-bam she was catching everything. She had some speed and had good size for a receiver, so we played her in the first game. ” Kierstyn scored two touchdowns that night. “She is one of the best receivers I have had,” said Cole Orkild, the Veritas Falcons’ quarterback. “If I throw the ball up there, I know there’s a really good chance she’ll catch it.” Orkild, an eighth-grader, also mentioned that having a girl on the team hasn’t changed the dynamic. “It was a little weird at first, but she just hangs out with us like normal. We still have the element of being one big team, and she’s an important part of it,” Orkild said. “If she can grow as a player and work really hard, she’ll be a captain for the next two years.” Coach Ravelo said Kierstyn, like all his players, has to earn her spot. “We treat her like any other member of the team, nothing different. Not a single one of my players is given anything; they have to come out and earn it in practice. Kierstyn has done just that. She has earned this. She shows up every day and gives me 110 percent.” Dean Wright, Kierstyn’s father, said although watching his daughter play football can be nerve- racking, she has always had a bizarre threshold of pain. “She would fall and scrape her knees as a kid, and I would just tell her to shake it off,” said Dean. “She was never one to cry, she just has a passion for the game.” Despite how tough his daughter is, Dean admits balancing his fears with his daughter’s love for the game is challenging. But in the end, he supports her decision to play. “That night, when she scored those two touchdowns, I told her when we got home, ‘You just scored two more touchdowns than I ever did.’ And as time has gone on, she keeps scoring touchdowns and I simply could not be prouder,” Dean said. Although she is having fun, Kierstyn says she doesn’t plan to play in high school. “I definitely want to play through the rest of my middle school years, but I know my mom doesn’t like it, so I don’t think I’ll play in high school,” Kierstyn said. Kierstyn may be younger and smaller than most of the boys she plays with, but her strength, passion and talent make her a force to be reckoned with on the football field. “I just love football. I get to go out and catch the ball after school. What’s better than that? I am just thankful that I get to be a part of this team and play for the Falcons,” Kierstyn said. Veritas welcomes first female player to middle school team PHOTOS BY GOOD VIBE MEDIA Kierstyn Wright

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