Linnea D’Acchille ends the season with a fantastic kick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Saloma Ayoub

Staff Writer

A little girl is watching a string of boys trickle out after football practice when Linnea D’Acchille walked out. The little girl’s eyes were wide. She turned to her mother who explained that D’Acchille is a female on the school’s football team. The girl asked to hold D’Acchille’s helmet like the Golden Fleece in awe.

D’Acchille attended Greenwich High School where 40 guys played on her football team. 10 of them were seniors and only three continued playing in college. Out of the three, she is the only one who still plays.

She said the realist experience so far had been college.

She had originally tried to join Utica College’s football team but was denied due to her gender. Hudson Valley’s Coach Michael Muehling gave her the opportunity to play and became Hudson Valley Community College’s first female kicker.

“If you have a passion, stick with it,” D’Acchille said. “Keep pushing for it [because] you will not always succeed,” she said. “[Failures immediacy] is not fun; it is a life lesson.”

Football has challenged D’Acchille to develop as a player and a person. D’Acchille pushed the boundaries of football and created new standards. But to D’Acchille, football had never been about making a statement.

Until last year, D’Acchille held the New York State record for the most amount of extra points in a season for a female kicker.

D’Acchille said it would be fun to play for the NFL, which would make her the first female to play.

She said her passion for the game is made easier by the support of her teammates, family and coaches.

“[Football] camp beats the crap out of you,” D’Acchille said. “It is hard on your body,” she said. “All the running at 7 a.m., nobody is ready for that.”

The trust the team shares on the field has produced a bond between the players. D’Acchille’s presence is a natural welded given.

“[We were] playing dodgeball [and] I was like ‘oh man I’m going to get hit really hard’ so Coach [allowed me to kick] the ball and everybody else had to throw it,” D’Acchille said. “I end up kicking it and destroying this one kid,” she said. “All the guys literally lost it [and] they thought it was the best thing ever that he literally fell over.”

D’Acchille worked hard to earn the respect she wanted and the result grew a family.

“I hope I left an impact and that [the] guys are kinder to women,” D’Acchille said, “That [females are] not just objects and they can see me as a person,” she said. “They’re kinder [and appreciative.]”