Text by NADAV STERNHEIM
Photo by INES LEGRAND
THE NEW NORMAL PALY’S LATEST FEMALE FOOTBALL PLAYER
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T’S DIFFICULT TO PICK OUT Her ultimate goal is not to make a political Palo Alto High School freshman Lara statement, nor to call attention to herself. Saslow from the sea of white football It’s also not to help inspire generations of helmets lined up on the sideline lis- future female Paly athletes who are considtening to the coach. But once the whistle ering joining the football team — although blows to end practice and the players begin there is no doubt that she will. to jog back to the locker room, she takes off Rather, Saslow just wants to work her helmet and her long, brown hair spills hard, kick field goals and win games. out. Then, the stark difference between her After finishing middle school, Saslow and the rest of the Paly junior varsity foot- said she wanted to try out a new sport. ball team becomes clear — she’s the only “I found out about football because of girl. my friends,” Saslow said. “But then I just But it’s not until you speak to Saslow really enjoyed kicking.” that you realize she’s not out of place. RathSaslow quickly discovered that kicking er, she’s exactly where she belongs. field goals was something she could practice When Saslow joined the JV team in easily and often, so she spent the summer August, she became the only girl to lace training every day. up her cleats for a Paly football team this It was then that she decided she wantyear. However, her actions are just part of a ed to join the Paly football team once she much larger movement occurring in locker started high school. Saslow’s family suprooms and football fields all over America. ported her desire to kick for the team, with In the 50 years since Title IX made it their main concern being for her physical illegal for high school sports to discriminate safety. based on gender, there has been a long-term “Realistically, Lara is on the smalltrend of women joining previously all- er end of the scale,” Scott Saslow, Lara boys football teams, and Saslow’s father, Saslow is part of it. said. “I think the At first, the team obviously One of the move- noticed that I was a girl and concern was 100% ment’s biggest breaksafety related, not different. I think now they’re throughs occurred like, ‘Oh, you’re during the height of the used to that and just treat me gonna get teased’ coronavirus pandemic, the same as the guys.” or, ‘The boys won’t when Vanderbilt socaccept you.’” — LARA SASLOW, freshman cer-goalie-turned-kicker However, Lara Sarah Fuller became the Saslow’s family first woman to play in a Power 5 football took comfort in the fact that there has been game. an increase in protection for youth football And while we have yet to see a wom- players, including improvements in the an make a National Football League roster, technology of Paly’s helmets. changes are also being made off the field at With the added consideration that the professional level, with female coaches Lara Saslow would be mainly kicking and and referees becoming a common occur- therefore would be less susceptible to frerence at NFL games. quent hits, the family agreed that it would Saslow doesn’t spend too much time be okay for her to play on the team. concerned with the broad view, however. Scott Saslow said that following the
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32 SEPTEMBER 2022
family’s approval, his first reaction was to see if the coaches would be open to letting a girl on the football team. “I reached out to the coaches over the summer … and they were amazing,” Scott Saslow said. “They wrote right back and were so encouraging. … I was really impressed that the coaching staff were open to it and were really supportive.” JV football head coach Jason Fung said that when he received Scott Saslow’s email, he was open to the idea of coaching Lara Saslow. “[The team] is open to everyone,” Fung said. “The hard part is making the decision to play.” When she first joined the team, Lara Saslow said that she was nervous about being the only girl on the team and the chal-