Snow Leopards football players still enjoy being groundbreakers for female athletes – Dakota News Now

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -The Snow Leopards season hasn’t gone as well as they had hoped. They’ve played a very tough schedule and injuries haven’t helped.
But as Photo-journalist Sam Tastad found out, it’s still been a very empowering experience to be ground-breakers for other women who might want to play tackle football.
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”If you’re not inspired by watching what they do, I don’t know, you may not have a pulse. Yup, yup, that a way. They come from their full time jobs, they are dealing with life, period. And come out and go to practice and then on Saturday’s,” said Sioux Falls Snow Leopards head coach Manny Gutierrez.
“We are hardworking, dedicated driven women that all have same goal in mind to grow women’s sports,” said Brandi Parks.
“Women coming together to empower other women in a sport we never got a chance to play growing up,” said Jen Reinke.
“When I was in high school, the first girl to play for Roosevelt was playing on the team and she plays for us as well but is deployed at the moment,” said Lexi Ronning.
“This is life giving to me and to all the other mom’s on the team and it is our release to come out to be active and hit some things and take some stress out of things but it’s really comradery. We come out. We get to be sisters and friends with your teammates,” said Reinke.
“I love coming to practice, laying hits, I love catching the ball. I love making big plays. I love the inspiration I give to people and it’s really when I am at a low point when I think why am I doing this, someone will message me whether from back home or around here and I just want you to know I fully love everything you are doing and and everything you are doing,” said Parks.
“We are continuing to elevate women’s sports by being in it. I think, of course, we want to win, but win or loss, we are still recruiting people to be on our team to go out there as a force in this women’s sports era,” said Kiley Coyne.
“How do you want to live? What do you want to do? What pages do you want to turn in the book of history? What glass ceiling do I want to break for my kids,” said Reinke.
“Our families are here supporting us. They come out and give us big hugs. In that moment, I get to be a mom and I get to be a mom that is all sweaty and gross but they don’t care. They
love us anyways. They love having us all sign their shirts and being part of the team,” said Coyne.
“We want our community to know that women’s football is alive and well and we are a force to be reckoned with,” said Coyne.
“Touchdown, Sioux Falls.”
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