Welcome back to This Hits Different! This week, Shelby Cassesse tells the story of West Allegheny freshman, who is starting for the Indians' girls soccer team... and football team.
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West A freshman kicking norms
Casie Yonker has been in high school all of three weeks, but you'd be hard-pressed to find someone at West Allegheny who hasn't heard of her.
"She's fearless and hates to lose," said West Allegheny girls soccer coach Dave Tissue.
As a freshman, Yonker starts on Tissue's varsity soccer team, takes all honors classes, and kicks for West Allegheny's varsity football team.
It started a few years ago when friends asked her to kick for their middle school team. Heading into high school, those same teammates came calling.
"They were all asking me if I was playing high school," she said. "I wasn't sure. I was really nervous, but I knew their kicker was a senior."
So nervous, Yonker says, that she avoided off-season practices at first. But after just a few summer workouts, things changed.
"I had so much fun and the guys were so nice to me," she said. "I was nervous they weren't going to even talk to me, but they were so nice to me."
"I really bonded with the guys over the summer and that's kind of what eased me in to deciding to play."
That warm welcome enough for her to want to give high school football a shot. Head football coach Dave Schoppe didn't wait long to see what she can do. Week 1, against Trinity, Yonker got the call.
That night, she made three field goals, four extra points and kicked a touchback in a 43-34 win.
"She's been a pleasant surprise, being as young as she is but still being composed as she is when she's on the field," Schoppe said. "We put her into some situations against Trinity and she was able to be successful there for us kicking it through the uprights."
"They were all super supportive and they were all proud of me," Yonker said of her teammates. "That feeling was unreal, once in a life time."
As successful as she's been in her first weeks of high school, Yonker says the grind of two varsity sports seasons and a heavy course load is setting in, mentally and physically. It's giving her a crash course in self-care and handling the ups and downs of her play.
"Last week was a lot, I had a lot soccer games and I had a lot of football practice," she said. "I just have to balance the two. This week, I'm dialing it down a little on football just because my hip has definitely taken a toll.
But, as long as it's up to her, you'll see Yonker on the football and soccer field for West Allegheny for the foreseeable future.
"As long as there isn't a kicker that's insane, I'm planning on doing soccer and football all four years," she said.
"She's still having fun," Schoppe added. "I tell them as long as you continue to have fun and you're excited about it, you're in the right place."
