Tackling barriers not a problem for Thunder senior

At the end of The Out-of-Door Academy’s football practice on Aug. 30, like every other practice, coaches handed out praise in the form of an “Attaboy,” congratulating individual players on working hard.

For one player, kneeling alongside the rest of the Thunder players, they should change the phrase to “Attagirl.”

Thankfully, senior Christina Lutton doesn’t mind being considered one of the guys.

This is Lutton’s second season playing football, and yes, she became the first female to ever grace the ODA varsity football roster after moving from Cleveland in 2016. Putting on shoulder pads wasn’t a rash decision for the wide receiver, defensive back and kicker. She had considered it for years, but soccer, her main sport, was played simultaneously with football in Ohio.

When she discovered soccer was a winter sport in Florida, she jumped at the opportunity.

When she told her father, Doug Lutton, of her plan, he didn’t try to talk her out of playing, because he knows it would have been futile.

“You can’t argue with her once she has made up her mind,” he said, laughing. “I figured there were worse things in the world that she could be doing.”

Her new head coach had almost the same attitude.

"I wasn't really sure what to think, quite honestly," coach Ken Sommers said of his reaction to Lutton's request to join the team. "I had not been in that situation before at the varsity level, but we want to provide kids with a great opportunity to pursue whatever they want, so I said 'Sure, we are all-in.' Once I got to know Christina, any worries I had dissolved. 

"She's team-first and never complains. She does not want preferential treatment. She is resilient, and really a pleasure to coach. I'm incredibly grateful she chose to play football with us."

She didn’t get to play much last season, only “when there was no hope, one way or another,” but she knows that was because of inexperience, not her gender. “I knew my place,” Lutton said of last season’s experience. “Last year was my first year at this. It’s how it has to be. If my place was on the sideline or helping out on the scout team, I respected that.”

She hopes to contribute more this season, but it all depends on how quickly her skills develop. The biggest challenge, she said, is learning all the football concepts she was never able to learn previously, like route trees. Even catching the ball consistently was a struggle a year ago. She’s used to using her feet, not her hands, part of the reason kicking extra points has been one of Lutton’s strengths, and something she hopes to do more of this season. Sommers said Lutton would also be a mainstay on the starting kickoff return unit, as she has developed her physicality, speed and strength.

Lutton came back, mainly because she enjoys the game, but also because of the bonds she forged. No one involved with Thunder football has ever made her feel uncomfortable, she said.

She’s especially close with her senior classmates. They often meet at Moe’s Southwest Grill, off University Parkway. The football group chat name used to be “The Brotherhood,” but the team amended it to say “The Brotherhood + Sis.”

"If there were (negative reactions toward Lutton), I didn't see any," senior running back Dakota Dickerson said. "Me and my close friends, the senior class, we were accepting of her. We've gone to a few of our houses just kind of hanging out, going swimming and stuff like that. We don't do anything different with her than we do with anyone else."

Her opponents haven’t made her feel uncomfortable, either, she said. One opponent, whose specific school Lutton can’t remember, said he and his teammates had been looking forward to playing against her for weeks, because they thought she was cool, and told her she played well. Others don’t know they are going one-on-one against a girl until they catch a glimpse of the long, brown braids peeking out from under her helmet.

Frankly, it’s everyone else who is most concerned with her gender, she said, including friends, family members and yes, reporters. Prior to last season, during a family dinner at MacAllisters Grill & Tavern, people at the table next to the Luttons were talking about a girl playing football at ODA.

Doug Lutton said the general consensus was that “Girls shouldn’t play football.” She shook it off, although she has grown tired of the questions.

She might have company answering those questions soon at ODA. Another girl, seventh-grader Caitlin Pacer, plays for ODA’s middle school team. Lutton has given Pacer advice and support, even lending her Lysol to keep her pads from smelling, she said. It’s a tip the Thunder boys have yet to learn.

Asked why more girls don’t play football, Lutton shook her head.

“I think there are a lot more girls who could play, and do not give themselves credit,” she said. “Football is made to be this aggressive, manly sport, but it’s really not. You do hit people, but not because you’re angry or you hate them, it’s strategy. I don’t know, maybe people are afraid to try.”

She’s had a few friends jokingly say they would join her, but they never do. Lutton does not mind. When she’s on the field, she doesn’t need more friends, because she’s with her second family. She does, however, hope to show people what can be done with determination.

“I hope that, in some way, I’m inspiring to other girls, just so they know they can do whatever they want” she said. “You don’t have to fit the gender roles, the societal norms that you used to fit. Do what you want because you want to do it.”