SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — We are in the thick of football season in KELOLAND and traditionally it’s mostly been boys on the gridiron but some girls have been kicking the norm lately.
They are often called the boys of Fall… but in Dell Rapids, there’s a girl out under the Friday night lights as well.
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This is senior Kirti Pickard’s second season kicking for the Quarriers.
“Sophomore year I kinda had that idea of, ‘oh, I want to go do this,’ but I was really scared to do that because, well, it’s intimidating to stand in front of your entire community, your school student body and try to do something knowing you could fail. But then I was kind of just looking at the situation and I was like, well, I don’t want fear to be the thing that holds me back from having cool opportunities and doing things that I want to do,” Kirti Pickard said.
To help push her through that fear, she had someone special who showed her the way.
“Of course, like every good little sister, I had to follow in my older sister’s steps,” Kirti Pickard said.
Miriam Pickard played for the Quarriers during her senior year in 2021. She says it came as no surprise that Kirti wanted to play football too.
“She’s done great. She has definitely had a more impactful position on the team, I was just kind of there as a backup and she’s like the kicker. So, it’s super cool seeing her just embrace that role and get to experience what she has gotten with her classmates that I got to experience,” Miriam Pickard said.
And when it comes to the teammates, some might find being amongst the boys intimidating — but not Kirti.
“It’s fun, I mean, it’s just like any other team you’re on, it’s just maybe a little bit louder,” Kirti Pickard said.
Head coach Derek Genzlinger says it’s been awesome having Kirti on his team and she exemplifies the life lessons he strives to teach his athletes.
“It’s a unique experience but the thing I’m most proud of having Kirti is who she is as a person, what she stands for, her character and her values. She’s a phenomenal, phenomenal person. And that’s something we talk to our players about a lot is how they treat people around them, how they want to be viewed when they leave this program,” Genzlinger said.
And even in just one conversation with Kirti, it is clear where her values lie.
“The biggest thing that I feel that football has taught me, or what God has taught me through football, is just like approaching it with a heart of humility and knowing that your identity doesn’t rise and fall over what you do. So, then just knowing that, you don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself what you do because who you are is enough,” Kirti Pickard said.
It’s a similar message she has for any other young girls dreaming of the Friday night lights.
“Just like, any opportunity, approach it with confidence and humility just knowing that like, you could fail but like, you’re identity is not found in what you do. Your identity is found in who has created you. So, just have fun with different opportunities and see what happens with them. You don’t know if you will fail or if you’ll succeed and so you try,” Kirti Pickard said.
