|
|
|
|
Monday, October 1, 2007
Tough Enough
Central Indiana, IN
|
|
|
By: Dave McConnell
|
Photo(s) By: David Dixon
|
One way Zionsville senior Leah Einterz displays her athleticism is being a dual-sport fall athlete. Another way is never being afraid of sticking her nose – literally – right in the middle of the action. Either way, Einterz has proved she can hang with girls – or boys.
No doubt Leah Einterz has accomplished more than most when it comes to being a high school athlete. But something was missing, at least in her mind.
Sure, Einterz earned a spot on Zionsville’s always-talented girls soccer roster as just a freshman, and played a key role a year later on the state runner-up team. Even before, she was a pioneer of sorts after landing a spot on the middle school football team as a tight end/defensive end in the eighth grade.
But since putting in two years as a kicker on the JV football squad and capturing the starting varsity job this year, what was missing had a chance to be attained.
“The first game against Lafayette Jeff,” says Einterz, who begins to smile, “their guy broke through our tacklers on a kickoff and I thought, ‘This is my chance. I finally get to tackle someone.’ We were going up along the sideline and he had about a step on me.”
What happened next, she says while simultaneously laughing, was utter disappointment.
“All I did was barely shove him and I couldn’t believe myself!” she says, continuing on. “I waited almost three years to get on a varsity kickoff, waiting to tackle someone, and all I did was shove him. Fortunately I found out later after film that had I not shoved him, he probably would have scored the touchdown. If I get another chance, I’m going for the knees – nothing dirty, just doing what I have to do.”
Rest assured, Einterz got another chance in the Week 3 win over Noblesville and made that one count. And to be honest, she was quite proud (and rightfully so).
“I got a sweet hit on the first kickoff,” she proclaims. “It was tight!”
The day after that game against Noblesville, Einterz got a scare during the soccer team’s Eagle Invite when she had a header clearance and an opposing player, she explains, decided to use her face as the ball. She suffered three fractures in her nose and around her eye.
But toughness has never been a problem for Einterz, as she played in the soccer team’s 3-0 win over Hamilton Southeastern just four days later. Then the following morning, a Thursday, she went through surgery and was ready to go on Friday for opening kickoff of the football team’s game against Southeastern.
Einterz isn’t only a figure for young girls to look up to and isn’t only known for being “the girl who kicks on the football team.” She’s pretty darn good. Through three games, she was 10-for-10 on point after touchdowns (PATs) and 2-2 on field goals (26 and 30 yards).
Zionsville football coach Larry McWhorter admits he was skeptical when first hearing about Einterz and her desire to kick for his team. He says that came from not having experience with her and not knowing her as a person or athlete, but that has certainly changed.
“She’s very committed to what she does and very disciplined with what she does,” says McWhorter, who had 105 wins through 11 years with Zionsville coming into this season. “She has been a model of persistence and has been very mature and responsible in dealing with two sports at one time.”
And in the midst of Einterz’ solid start to the football season, her leadership on the soccer field helped the Eagles to a 7-1-1 start. That record included wins over No. 1 FW Dwenger, No. 2 Noblesville, No. 3 North Central and No. 9 FW Homestead (all rankings at time of game), and vaulted the team up to third in the state in the Sept. 5 Coaches’ poll.
One of eight children, some of whom were notable ZHS athletes, Einterz has definitely dug a path down a completely different road being a dual-sport athlete. She says she doesn’t get to see the family too much any more, partly because she feels that she needs to put her best effort into both sports to be fair to herself and her teammates.
Einterz has the typical high school day academically, but then heads to 2-3 hours of football practice followed by a quick dinner and two-hour soccer practice. There’s some flexibility within that, with a personal kicking coach this year, but most days she’s pulling double-duty at the fields. Better yet, on August 31 Einterz even played in the soccer team’s 1-0 win over Brebeuf that started at 5 p.m. – and was dressed and ready for the football team’s 28-16 win over Noblesville (where she was 4-4 on PATs).
“Football has been more of a recreational sport the past few years – I didn’t take it too serious because (former kicker/quarterback) Tyler Reimer was so much better than I was,” she says. “Then this year, it came down to me wanting to put in the time to be really serious. I had to make the decision to put my time and effort into two sports and be good at both of them.”
What started when Einterz went to a middle school football call-out meeting with her friends has, frankly, created a situation where she was forced to grow up quicker than most. Perhaps that is part of the reason she has direction on her future, wanting to study journalism and business with the hopes of playing at the collegiate level – maybe even both sports.
“It has definitely made me grow up. I’ve had to really learn how to manage my time and it has given me a lot more discipline,” says Einterz, continuing about how that could help her future. “I know I want to play soccer while I get my degree, and if the opportunity presents itself, I would never rule out playing football. I’ve had to prove myself before, so why not again if I get the chance?”
Well, she got another chance to make that tackle and didn’t disappoint.
|
|
| No comments added! Click [ add a comment ] to be the first! |
|
|
|
®
™
™
™
