SARAH GRABERT Playing football is a real kick for Boardman girl

She added football to an already busy schedule, and has an extra point to show for it.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Sometime last spring, Sarah Grabert asked Boardman High football coach Garry Smith -- who also happened to be her teacher at the time -- what he would do if a girl tried out for football.
"I said, 'Why not?' " Smith said.
"I was kinda kidding," Grabert said. "But he told me that if she could keep up, he wouldn't cut her. So I told him I was gonna play."
He gave her some paperwork, she took it home and, the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea.
"I just thought, 'Why not?' " she said.
Well, for one thing, she also played soccer in the fall. And, the more she thought about that, the more she realized she didn't want to quit.
"I've just been playing too long," she said. "I would miss it way too much."
So, she decided to do both.
Also cross country
Of course, she was also running track at the time. And, while her times had dropped a little from the year before, they hadn't dropped as much as she wanted. And she knew that running cross country in the fall would definitely help her get faster and better.
So, she decided to do all three.
"And one thing I've learned is that cross country is the hardest sport there is," she said.
Even harder than swimming? (Did we mention she does that, too?)
"I don't know," she said, after pausing for a moment. "But it's hard. People don't like to run a lot. If you ask a football player to go for a 5-mile run, they'll look at you like you're crazy."
Wanted to kick
Grabert has wanted to be a kicker -- she's got a strong leg and has made field goals longer than 30 yards -- but Smith made sure she knew the Spartans already had a first-string kicker, John Fahey.
"She said she didn't care," Smith said. "She just wanted to be on the team. That was fine with me."
So, Grabert rearranged her schedule to accommodate all three sports, as well as her homework (she's an honors student) and her social life.
"I've managed it OK," she said. "I get stressed a lot, but my parents help me get through it."
She got a special helmet (the ear pads are really big), changed in a separate locker room and even came to the Cleveland St. Ignatius game straight from a soccer match.
Playing status unknown
Problem was, the Spartans were struggling (they lost their first five games) and she started to wonder if she'd get a chance to kick.
"There was no time frame," Smith said. "It wasn't one of those deals where we had a set schedule. It just came about."
At the homecoming game against North Canton Hoover on Oct. 11, she got the chance.
"I was on [homecoming] court and I didn't know if I'd play," she said. "All the sudden, they told me to go in. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, really?' I was really nervous, but the boys helped cool my nerves. They're great guys."
Just before she kicked, her holder, Josh Susany, passed on some words of encouragement. "He told me, 'C'mon, Sarah, you never miss in practice. You can make it."
And sure enough, she did.
Scored final point
"The whole stands were screaming," said Grabert, who scored the final point in the Spartans' 49-28 loss. "Mike Dougherty picked me up from behind and I couldn't see who it was. I was flopping around and everyone was yelling. It was great."
Her life is starting to return to normal now.
Last Saturday, she played her final soccer game (Boardman lost to Fitch in overtime in the district semifinal) and ran her final cross country race (she finished 73rd at the district meet).
The Spartans (1-8) play their final game Friday against Cardinal Mooney. And whether Grabert gets in the final game doesn't really matter. She's already made her point.
scalzo@vindy.com