The Manitou Springs High School football team’s kicker Kate Johnson (12), is continuing history in Manitou by being the third female kicker for the Mustangs varsity football team. 

Johnson began playing football her junior year in search of a good team community after leaving the volleyball team due to her loss of interest in the sport. “I didn’t feel very connected to volleyball as a sport,” Johnson said. “The team morale was not what I was looking for, and I felt like football could give me a better community.”

Johnson said that the switch to football was not an easy one, but her connection to people on the team helped her feel more included. “I was lucky enough to have already been friends with a lot of people on the team, which made the transition much easier for me,” Johnson said. “Sometimes it can be really hard to be on the team, but it’s super rewarding at the end of the day.”

Not only have her teammates helped her feel included, but the coaches have helped her build up confidence in football over the years and helped her meet her goals. “I thought that transition was going to be really awkward, especially me being the only girl on the team; but I felt very, very included by all of the coaches,”Johnson said. “A lot of them go out of their way to make me feel comfortable and make me feel included.”

One of Johnson’s favorite memories with head football coach, Stuart Jeck, was after she scored her first point after. “After I scored my first point after, I was running off the sidelines, and I was out of it because I was super excited; and Coach Jeck came up to me and held my shoulder pads,” Johnson said. “And he said, “I want you to know that I’m so proud of you and you’re doing so well, big congrats.’ It was that moment that was so important to me.” 

In the 2022-2023 girls basketball season Johnson, a three sport athlete, tore her ACL causing her to be out for the soccer season. She had to completely rehab over the summer to be able to kick for her senior season. “Tearing my ACL was brutal. The first few weeks I had a really hard time kicking the ball because of the direction I went with my ACL. I chose to use a quad graft to replace my ACL which means that I lost all strength in my quad which is rough for kicking,” Johnson said. “I spent about six months trying to get that back, which was really just a really frustrating process.”

Johnson struggled with her confidence at the beginning of the 2023-2024 football season due to her knee injury. “I think this year the most impact my injury has had is just boosting my confidence coming back after the injury. This season it’s been a huge confidence builder seeing that I can do things that I used to do before my injury,” Johnson said. “Like knowing that I can throw my knee at a ball as fast as I can, and it’s going to be okay.” 

Although Johnson has a lot of pressure on her for being the only female on a traditionally all male team, she encourages other girls to try football if they are interested in playing. “There will be a lot of pressure if any girl does it, so you have to have a very strong mentality,” Johnson said. “And there will be some hard days, but in the end, it’s very rewarding.”