Two of the NFL’s first-ever women position coaches face-off this Sunday as the Washington Football Team hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a “Salute to Service” game on Nov. 14.
Before fans watch Bucs coach Lori Locust and WFT coach Jennifer King battle it out from the sidelines, they can watch them discuss what it took to rise through the ranks on the football field and become Women of First, as they shared their stories with two women military veterans, Yencris Baez and Vanessa Thomas – who are also Women of First, in a video released by USAA on Twitter.
"The women in the military definitely inspire each other every day and we learn a lot of things," said Army veteran and women veterans advocate Yencris Baez. "For instance, the art of being a mother, being a sister, a daughter and the art of still being a soldier and being a strong woman.”
Navy veteran Vanessa Thomas grew up in a military family and is also an advocate for women veterans today.
"My dad was really stressing the fact that I was entering a man's world, and that's how I always took it,” she said.
"For me, it's never been a gender-specific quest," said Locust, the Bucs assistant defensive line coach, of her current role. "It's been, I wanna be a good coach, I wanna be viable, I wanna be contributory to a staff, to a team, to a winning season."
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"I never look ahead because I know that doing a really good job where I am will get me to the next position,” King, Washington's assistant running backs coach, added.
The video features the four women meeting on a football field and discussing what their respective roles have in common. The Bucs are the defending Super Bowl champions and have a 6-2 record thus far this season. WFT is at 2-6.
The Salute to Service campaign will end with the announcement of the NFL’s winner of the Salute to Service Award, presented by USAA, at the Super Bowl in February.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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