HOWARD — Coach Andy Beatty and the East Knox Bulldogs have an intriguing prospect on their hands: perhaps the first female kicker in program history.
An 8th-grade soccer star turned football kicker, Gracie “GG” McDonald, has already been kicking down barriers and inspiring young girls across her community.
While fans won’t see her trotting on the field for the Bulldogs’ JV or varsity teams yet, McDonald is putting in the work while kicking for her middle school team.
From the pitch to the gridiron
McDonald’s athletic career started when she was just 3 years old, playing striker on the soccer pitch.
At 8 years old, McDonald became an inaugural member of the Mount Vernon Sting, the area’s first all-girls travel team in the Ohio Champions Premier Soccer League.
“I started at 3 and eventually moved up to Sting. I’ve been with those girls for the first girls team ever, stuck with them until I transferred over here,” McDonald said.
“My last season with them will be this spring.”
When McDonald came over to East Knox, she realized the area did not have a soccer program. Thus, her goal of becoming a kicker was born.
Practice makes perfect
McDonald came to Coach Beatty with her goal, was immediately welcomed with open arms and got right to work.
“After her junior high practice ends, it’s about the same time our high school practice ends,” Coach Beatty said.
“She goes up to that practice field a lot with me and Carver (East Knox’s varsity kicker), and she’s there till 8:15 p.m. just kicking over and over and over.”
Coaching at the local level isn’t the only thing McDonald has turned to.
“Gracie attends field goal kicking camps hosted by former NFL kickers Austin Seibert and Filip Filipovic in her spare time at Ashland University,” Mitchell McDonald, Gracie’s dad, said.
Just recently, McDonald put all those practices and hard work into motion.
On Sept. 11, she was not only the first female player to step onto a junior high football field in program history, but also the first female to record a point with her extra point kick against Loudonville.
The historic day didn’t stop there. McDonald also recorded three tackles and a 46-yard punt for the Bulldogs.
An inspiration to others
McDonald has proved not only to herself and to her family that she is more than capable of being a clutch kicker, but more importantly, she’s proved it to girls younger than her.
“She is inspiring young ladies. There’s a group of four or five little girls who are like a Gracie fan club,” Coach Beatty said.
I think it’s so cool because they’re seeing a young lady who set her mind on doing something and is working like crazy to get it, and she’s doing it. She’s earned the respect of her teammates and the community because of that.
Coach andy beatty
At the end of the day, there are two goals more important than field goals for McDonald.
“My freshman year, I want to make varsity, prove people wrong and show people I can,” McDonald said.
“I really want to inspire little girls, make them see that you can achieve anything.”
(The photos below are credit to Mitchell McDonald)
