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Staff Spotlight - Meet Kerri Myers
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"I was ready for a new challenge and saw the form for try-outs. My goal was to make the team."
So begins Kerri Myers' tale regarding her entry into the world of the National Women's Football Association. Myers, who just finished her rookie season, is a running back for the Pittsburgh Passion.
After a three-hour tryout featuring sprints, weightlifting, footwork, agility, catching, kicking and throwing drills, Myers was selected as one of the 65 team members.
Commitment to the team is year 'round, with conditioning from October through December, practice four nights a week from January until games begin in April, practice three nights a week during the regular season (April-June), review of game films three nights a week from January through June, and games on Saturdays during the season. Playoffs are in July and August. September is their only month away from practice and games.
"It's a 7-day-a-week commitment for 11 months of the year, but it is worth it," Myers said.
Although the team members are from diverse backgrounds, Myers said, "... we all have a 'sports mentality.' We play with one heart. We spend so much time together, we have become close-knit, like a family - we see and share the good and the bad. Our friendships are so important - we need to trust each other in order to play well."
Though this is Myers' first venture in professional sports, she is no stranger to athletics, playing basketball and softball, as well as running cross-country, at Mohawk High School, New Castle, Pa. She holds the record as the all-time leading scorer for her high school basketball team. She is a Dean's List graduate of Marshall University, Huntington, W.V.,with a degree in Exercise Physiology, and was a student athletic trainer for the university's football team.
"Participation in sports is so important as we grow up," she said. "The lessons learned by working as part of a team carries through to our adult lives. I like that women are being given a chance to play football; and, as the sport grows, it will give younger girls a chance to have this experience."
Myers finds inspiration from a special group of people.
"My fans at the Masonic Village inspire me," she said. "When I see them in the stands supporting me, it boosts me up and keeps me going - it's their turn to push me to my full potential, which is what I do for them in the Barley Wellness Center."
For more information about the Pittsburgh Passion, their schedule and how to obtain tickets, go to www.pittsburghpassion.com.
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| Kerri Myers at work in the Barley Wellness Center in Sewickley and at play for the Pittsburgh Passion. |
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