With long histories in athletics, Coronado High School (Calif.) seniors Emilia Alpert and Lindsey Balsley set their eyes on the gridiron, and both accomplished a significant achievement for their football careers on Friday.
Each scored in Coronado’s game against Mar Vista (Imperial Beach, Calif.), as Alpert rushed in a one-yard touchdown and Balsley nailed an extra point to help the Islanders take the 37-6 win and improve its record to 3-3.
Both girls are multisport athletes, according to The Coronado News. Alpert has done horseback riding since childhood and is captain of the rugby team with goals of playing it in college, while Balsley was a double medalist in the CIF San Diego Section Track and Field Championship Finals and plays soccer and volleyball.
Alpert, who plays both running back and inside linebacker, wanted to play a team sport rather than the equine sport. She started playing football as a junior, using her rugby experience to play the physical game.
Balsley hadn’t planned on joining the boys football team, but she showed out during the Powderpuff game last year. She stepped up to punt and, as head coach Kurt Hines described to the Coronado News, “booted the heck out of a ball.” He offered her a spot on the football team.
They joined the football team and haven’t missed a beat.
Hines posted videos of their scoring plays from Friday:
So proud of them! pic.twitter.com/PvEWNSvZtO
— Coach Hines 🇺🇸 (@CoachKurtHines) September 23, 2023
Unfortunately, after the girls scored and got some notice on social media, Hines saw negative attention going their way. He posted a strong message to Twitter about the difficulty of being in the position to accomplish what they did, imploring the “keyboard warriors” to stop “hating on young women and young men.”
“Anyone that’s ever played the game understands how hard it is to get any points on the board,” he said. “If you find yourself hating on young women and young men on social media and you are an adult, you gotta figure something out.”
See his full message below:
PSA:
To all Jackwagon. keyboard warriors who are living in their mother’s basements, STOP hating on young men and young women who are doing great things! pic.twitter.com/JE1IaKznUJ
— Coach Hines 🇺🇸 (@CoachKurtHines) September 23, 2023
Given that Hines has been a coach for 26 years, it’s safe to say he has a pulse on the game and its nuances and challenges— so we’ll cede to his opinion on this subject.
