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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — It’s not every day you see a female athlete trading her soccer cleats for football pads, but one Ohio high schooler is kicking her way to the playoffs.
She’s proving that talent knows no boundaries, no matter the sport.
For more than a decade, Natalie Erdman has excelled using her feet.
“Soccer always; it’s been that way since I was two,” said Natalie Erdman, a junior at Springfield High School.
The Springfield High School junior plays defense on the varsity soccer team.
But a conversation she had with one of the school’s football players changed her life.
“He was like, ‘You’re a kicker,’ and I was like, ‘I mean I’m a person that can kick,’ and he was like ‘You gotta go meet the coaches.’ Next thing I know, they were meeting my parents, and next thing I know they were having me kick,” Erdman said.
That chance encounter landed Erdman a spot on the Wildcats football roster.
During the regular season, she made 32 of her 34 extra points and also converted the only field goal she attempted.
“Nat’s a good girl all-around — good student, good athlete and a good teammate, really good attitude. That’s Natalie,” said Larry Ham, defensive line coach at Springfield High School.
Her success goes beyond the football and soccer fields. Erdman also powerlifts for the school as well.
All of her activities force her to excel in time management.
“It’s definitely a lot to balance. A lot of late night, student practices, soccer games, things like that. I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s nice to be on both teams,” Erdman said.
After school, it’s back-to-back soccer and football practices.
Erdman starts her day at 6 a.m. and sometimes doesn’t get home until 9 p.m.
“The support from the team and everything like that, just to know, it makes it worth it of waking up early knowing that I’m appreciated at the team, and I’m respected like that,” Erdman said.
With her focus set on Friday night, she’s proving that determination, not gender, defines a true competitor.
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Cassidy Wilson
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