What was your experience like at Azusa Pacific? When did your interest in football start? 

I played four years at APU, in soccer. We were very very competitive. We were very successful for four years. When I was graduating, I had interest overseas as far as going to play soccer, then randomly someone who worked at the school asked me to come out to a women’s football tryout. Pretty much from the first practice I was hooked, so I started playing women’s semi- professional football. 

I’ve played women’s football for 13 years. I was a wide receiver, free safety, and quarterback. Off and on throughout that time I was kicking and punting. I played for the 2017 Women’s National Team for the IFAF as a kicker/ punter. So that was 13 years in women’s football then last year I played men’s professional football in indoor as a kicker. 

What sparked your decision to switch from women’s to men’s football? 

I was signed with a team in 2019. Then Covid hit; it was supposed to be the first women’s professional league. They canceled 2020, then canceled 2021, we were told a lot of promises that were untrue…I decided that I was going to retire as a wide receiver/ free safety and focus on kicking. At that time, all of my time went into wide receiver and free safety. I didn’t really train as a kicker. 

It was “How good can I be if I actually trained as a kicker and learned how to do this and pushed myself to the highest level of competition?”, and so with that came “If I’m going to be a professional, there’s no women’s professional football, I’m just going to challenge myself and go up against the men and see what I can do and see how I compete and see where I land”. 

What gives you an advantage over other athletes that play your position? 

I think it’s a mindset. I was a goalkeeper in college so my favorite thing in soccer was penalty kicks. It’s the game on the line kind of mindset and pressure. Some people, the pressure gets to them and they fold. My entire career in athletics, I’ve performed better under pressure. I take that mindset into my training, every rep every day, every training session. It’s one, a necessity to prove myself because there are a lot of doubters that a female should be playing in men’s football which I heard a lot about last year when I played. There’s a level of pressure that’s always with me as a female playing in men’s football. 

Why did you choose the National Scouting Combine? 

The 13 years of women’s football means nothing when it comes to men’s football. I don’t have the college stats, I don’t have the resume. When coaches or scouts or recruiters or GM’s are looking for players, it’s really hard to get a look. 

It’s extremely difficult to get a look from coaches, it’s kind of like, “Ok she’s a female but can she play?” No matter how much film you send in, it’s not going to compare to film from a [Division I] university. 

This offseason I was trying to get into combines and trying to go to different competitions and compete and go to workouts. It’s been difficult just to get my foot in the door and go out and compete because I don’t have the resume as a lot of these other guys… 

I’m excited to go out and compete and to get on a higher level where I can be seen and hopefully open up some more doors and opportunities. 

What do you hope to show scouts at the Combine? 

The key for me is consistency and accuracy, especially having played indoor last year where the goalposts are so much smaller compared to outdoor. All of my training, everything that I’m doing, I want to be that kicker you can count on. I step on the field and you don’t have to question if this is going to be a miss or a make, if you send me out to the field,  you know 100% that the ball is going through the uprights…

I want to go out there and show I’m out here competing as a kicker because I’m a kicker, the fact that I’m female does not matter. I’m going to step up, I’m going to make the kick, and you can count on me regardless. 

What would you say to women and girls who are interested in football?

You have to love the sport, doing it for the right reasons. It is difficult. There is women’s football, there is a vast opportunity growing right now, football and the development of that. I played in three different leagues in women’s football: IWUFL, WFA, WNFC. WNFC is growing in leaps and bounds. Right now, it’s all considered semi- pro…

The most important thing is, if you love this game like I love playing football, and if you love the game, go after it. Don’t let anyone tell you no, don’t let anyone stop you. If you love it, you’ll find a way to play and you’ll find a way to grow in the game. Hopefully in less than 5 years there will be a women’s professional league. And I think for me, everytime I step on a field and a little girl sees me play, in her mind she’s like “oh she’s doing it, I can do it too”. If you see her, you can be her. 

If not football, then what? 

I would still be in football, as soon as I’m done playing I plan on going into coaching. I own a little side business, it’s motivational books, and mindset growth and the process of athletics and fitness. I would continue to do all of that, as well as coaching. I coached high school football, I was a special teams coordinator. As soon as I walk away from the field I’m going to turn around and walk right back. 

Football shows you who you are, shows you who your character is. The idea that you grow and learn through sport is so very true. I think that sports have such a huge impact on people’s lives… 

As a coach you can have a tremendous impact in athletes’ lives, I want to continue to grow the sport, continue to learn myself, and continue to have a positive impact on the sport.