respect all
fear none USAFA grads help guide women’s semi-pro football team to second consecutive national championship
By Jeff Holmquist
Eric Costello
The two-time national champion Utah Falconz women’s tackle football team has the United States Air Force Academy to thank for its unrivaled success over the past three years. During that stretch, the squad has amassed a 40-1 record against Independent Women’s Football League opponents throughout the nation. Ask any of the players the reason for their winning ways and they’ll likely point to the coaching staff that includes Head Coach Rick Rasmussen ’77 and Offensive Coordinator Kyle Rasmussen ’02.
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ince joining the coaching staff four years ago, the father-son duo has installed a system eerily similar to the Air Force Falcons football team. Although neither of the Rasmussen men played for the Falcons during their time at the Academy, they learned well the leadership qualities and warrior ethos that can enhance any team’s chances for victory. The Falconz team motto — “Respect All, Fear None” — is similar to those adopted by each Academy class and helps create the appropriate mindset for players and coaches. On offense, the Falconz run the triple option to help overcome the size disadvantage they face at every game. The squad relies on speed, angles and conditioning (sound familiar?) to create an edge over their opponents. The Utah team also has implemented a code of conduct and a disciplined approach to game preparation that has paid huge dividends on the field of play.
At this year’s national championship game — held July 22, 2017 — the Utah Falconz dominated the Austin Yellow Jackets 35-18 in front of its hometown Salt Lake City fans. “No mercy,” Rick Rasmussen told the team in pre-game warm-ups. “I’ll be the one to decide if it’s enough. Take it to them until I say enough.” A record crowd for women’s semi-pro football of 2,500 raucous fans turned out to enjoy the action at Cottonwood High School stadium. Temperatures in the 90s didn’t seem to dampen the team’s passion and resolve to defend its 2016 national championship title. FANTASTIC FALCONZ The 53 women on the Falconz squad range in age from 19 to 47. All pay a hefty sum to play each season — about $800 to cover the cost of uniforms, equipment, referees and travel. The “pay to play” mentality was one of the reasons Head Coach Rick Rasmussen was drawn to coaching the Falconz. Rasmussen left the Air Force in 1986 after serving as a T-38 instructor and an F-16 pilot during his military career. He later joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Utah, eventually serving as a security plan supervisor during the 2002 Winter Olympics. For 14 years, Rasmussen also coached a local high school football team but eventually retired from that role. A teacher from that high school — who also happened to be the quarterback on Utah’s first women’s football team — approached Rasmussen at the gym one day and pestered him into lending a hand with the female squad. “She just kept harassing me and asking me to come to help them just one time,” he laughs. “I avoided it, because I didn’t want to get back into coaching. But once I went — which was a mistake — I haven’t left since. Coaching adult women who pay to play is a big challenge. The players have no background
LEFT
Kyle Rasmussen ‘02 proudly displays the team motto on his game-day t-shirt.
ACROSS
1st Lt. Emmy Raney warms up her kicking leg prior to the Independent Women’s Football League championship game July 22. Raney played for the Falconz during the past two seasons. Photos by Ryan Hall
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in the sport, but they’re willing to learn everything. Our women are very dedicated.” The team has adopted the coaching staff’s philosophy, which is heavily influenced by the Rassmussens’ Academy experiences. “We run a triple option,” Rick Rasmussen explains. “We run toss sweeps, and we run a lot of wheel passes. The same type of stuff that you’d see on Saturdays at Falcon Stadium.” The Falconz run a hurry-up offense, rarely huddling in an effort to keep the opponent on their heels. The squad rarely punts and usually attempts onside kicks after scoring. “We try to keep the ball in our team’s hands,” he explains. Interestingly, the team also has instituted an honor committee, made up of current players, which addresses team rules that are broken and determines disciplinary action when needed. “Much like we all learned, standing there on the Terrazzo … we’re not big on excuses,” he says. “We’re big on personal responsibility, and the players have embraced that.” Rasmussen adds that he’s especially proud to be part of a team that is diverse and yet plays as a unified unit. “Our team is a great cross section of America,” he says. “We have a little bit of everything — racially, religiously, personal choice. There are people on our team who have never met somebody of the other type — no matter what that other type happens to be. They’re 53 completely diverse young ladies, all pulling on the same end of the rope.”
QUALITY TIME Kyle Rasmussen ’02 had no coaching experience when he agreed to join the Utah Falconz coaching staff. The chief financial officer for a small Utah company, Kyle Rasmussen says he was simply looking to spend more time with his dad when he took the volunteer offensive coordinator position. “I wanted to apprentice under him — to more or less learn as much as he had in his brain about the game of football,” he says. “I was astounded at how quickly I got up to speed, and how quickly my dad was able to teach me a lot of the facets of the game. I’m having a ball just spending time with a guy who I greatly admire, who has taught me so much about life, and who has given me so many gifts — including the Air Force Academy.” From day one, the team enjoyed immediate success and has managed to steadily improve each year, Kyle Rasmussen reports. This season, the Falconz outscored their opponents 472-33 and were undefeated, 11-0. “Those are stats that speak for themselves,” he smiles. “They really highlight the level of organization and discipline that we have in our staff and our players.” Even though the Falconz regularly dominate their opponents, Kyle Rasmussen says the goal of the semi-pro team isn’t just winning games. “The focus is teaching the game of football to a group who didn’t grow up playing and who has had relatively little Checkpoints · September 2017 · 37
exposure to the game,” he explains. “We offer them a gift of both organization and football that a lot people don’t get, especially women.” JUST FOR KICKS Air Force 1st Lt. Emmy Raney ’14 was one of the few Falconz who had previous football experience. She was a kicker and punter for her Fort Knox (Kentucky) High School team when she was younger. A soccer player most of her life, Raney tried out for the Academy soccer team while a cadet but didn’t make the squad. She would join the women’s club rugby team instead, playing all four years of her Academy tenure. Following graduation, Raney was stationed at Hill Air Force Base with the ICBM systems directorate. She heard that two fellow USAFA graduates were coaching the local women’s semipro team and she decided to try out. For the past two years, Raney has played with the Utah squad as a kicker and punter. During the 2016 season, she also was a wide receiver and safety. “It’s really an amazing experience, because you meet and get to know women that you never would have come into contact with any other way,” she reports. “There are doctors on the team. There are lawyers on the team. There are zookeepers. There are so many moms on the team. They are people of different backgrounds and cultures. But you have this common goal of playing football and doing well as a team.” 38 · usafa.org
What really sets the team apart, however, is the coaching philosophy that permeates the Falconz practices and games, Raney says. “Our coach is really big on integrity, timeliness and respect,” she says. “He really brings the Air Force core values to our team.” With two championship rings in her possession, Raney is leaving the Falconz due to her new assignment at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. She hopes to catch on with another women’s football team in the future.
ACROSS
(Above) Utah Falconz Head Coach Rick Rasmussen ‘77 implores his team during a timeout. His Falconz squad went on to win the league championship for the second season in a row. (Below) 1st Lt. Emmy Raney watches the action from the sidelines during the July 22 championship game. Photos by Ryan Hall
“AMERICAN FOOTBALL IS LIKE RITUALIZED WARFARE. THERE’S A LOT OF STRATEGY, A LOT OF MANEUVERING, AND A LOT OF RAW HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT. AND THERE’S EMOTION LIKE I’VE ONLY SEEN IN ARMED CONFLICT. I WAS JUST SUPER CURIOUS, SO I HAD TO TRY IT OUT.” “There are so many women’s football teams out there, even though people don’t know about it,” Raney says. “There are two different leagues right now — the IWFL and the WFA [Women’s Football Alliance] — and there are at least 30 teams in each league. I bet there is some team around where I’m going that I’d love to join.” THE EARLY YEARS Utah played host to one of the region’s first semi-pro tackle football teams for women. USAFA graduate Lisa (Willman) Berente ’90 was one of the early pioneers in the sport when she joined the Utah squad in 2010. Berente was a self-described jock while at the Academy — playing basketball and soccer, as well as being part of the track team. She also trained and played for the USA’s team handball squad as a cadet. But she never played American football until, years later, one of her friends suggested that she try out for the new Utah team. A KC-135 pilot during her 25-year Air Force career, Berente says she never intended to actually join the team. She was the fifth oldest player to show up for the tryouts and she wasn’t sure how she and her aging friends would fare. “It was a serious, timed and measured tryout,” she smiles. “What we found out was that we could hang. We did pretty good and it was just super fun.” Still, it took some convincing from her friends for Berente to join the fledgling team. She would eventually become a wide receiver, linebacker and backup quarterback during her
playing years. She admits that she never regretted her decision to play the game. “American football is like ritualized warfare,” she says. “There’s a lot of strategy, a lot of maneuvering, and a lot of raw hand-tohand combat. And there’s emotion like I’ve only seen in armed conflict. I was just super curious, so I had to try it out.” When the Utah Falconz organized four years ago, Berente was tempted to play for fellow USAFA graduate Rick Rasmussen. She says the structure, discipline and conditioning that the head coach brought to the program was something only an Academy graduate could organize and implement. Berente decided the demands of being a player were too great, so she instead agreed to become the Falconz wide receiver coach. For Berente, who retired from the Air Force two years ago and currently flies full time with the airlines, being involved with the Falconz has been both educational and enjoyable. Even though she gave up her official coaching spot this season, Berente could be found at Falconz games cheering on and encouraging her former charges. Players join the team for a variety of reasons, she suggests, but they all come away with greater confidence and a strong feeling of camaraderie when the season ends. “The Falconz have proven that you really can take all kinds of different players and skill levels and put them on a team … and it will do something for them in a good, positive way,” she notes. FOOTBALL’S FUTURE Rick Rasmussen indicates the competition in the Independent Women’s Football League is steadily improving, so the future of the sport is bright. Berente says she hopes women’s football thrives, as it gives some female athletes a unique avenue for competition and a strong sense of belonging. “I’ve never learned so much about myself than when I played football,” she says. “And I’d already played sports for years and years. I hope that football is always available for those who are looking for it.” Checkpoints · September 2017 · 39