Written by: Rachel Cohen
Grace Cannizzo grew up loving sports. She noticed during fifth grade that every recess the boys would play soccer so one day, she told one of them she wanted to join.
He invited her in and she eventually became the only girl playing in a group of 40 boys. It wasn’t met with agreement from everyone and one of the boys would lash out, pushing her around and throwing punches at her.
But instead of letting that be her discouragement, she went on to invite more and more girls to come play until there were at least 15 girls who joined the soccer games played during recess. That same boy was so mad and stopped throwing punches because he was outnumbered.
Cannizzo laughed while telling this story because of how ridiculous it was that a boy would throw punches, but it taught Cannizzo a lesson early on. She learned she could hang with the boys and had the skills and knowledge to be a part of the games, the locker rooms and the broadcast booth just as much as any of the boys did.
Not only is Cannizzo a 20-year-old journalism student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but she is now also an assistant wide receiver coach for a high school football team.
At a time when women are continuing to break barriers in sports, Cannizzo is leading that charge as the only female football coach for Madison West High School.
“I’ve been watching football my whole life,” Cannizzo said. “I’ve been analyzing sports my whole life. I know I’m just as qualified as anyone else, even if they know more than me, I’m still qualified for the positions I have.”
Growing up in New Jersey, Cannizzo was immersed in sports through her family’s love for Notre Dame football. She loved the environment, tradition, and bond sports brought.
“There isn’t a time in my childhood I don’t remember sports being a big thing in my family, specifically with my dad,” Cannizzo said. “He just kind of raised me that way.”
That love of sports being in her life continued with her to college and ultimately led to her reaching out to the Madison West football staff.
“I’ve just been so into football my whole life,” Cannizzo said. “I’m sometimes that person that’s picking apart things. And I was like, you know, I feel like I’d actually enjoy this beyond just yelling at my television.”
She sent an email and went through an interview process with the Madison West coaches. They all clicked and by the end of winter, Cannizzo was added to the coaches email list.
Michael Vorlander, an offensive line assistant coach at Madison West said, “it’s unusual to see a woman on a football coaching staff, especially at the high school level.”
He initially questioned how the 18-year-olds on the team would respond to having a female coach and how Cannizzo would coach considering she had never played football.
But, after meeting Cannizzo, all of his questions and worries went away.
“When you meet Grace, you realize that she knows ball,” Vorlander said. “She knows ball very well. She’s been watching it from a very young age, and she understands it more than a lot of these kids.”
Besides learning all their names in the first week and blowing Vorlander “out of the water,” Cannizzo has developed a different kind of relationship with the players.
While they can jokingly call her “unc” (a slang term for being old) because she’s only a few years older than them, she also provides a different outlook on things.
“I think that adds more of a relatability factor,” she said. “I’m pretty good at bringing situations down, de-escalating and also, yeah, with age, I think I’ve been able to help with things I can relate to more, even outside of coaching.”
She’s also made a difference in the coaches. Not only has she changed their perspectives of women coaching, she’s also brought a new light to the team. While some coaches can be headstrong, Grace is more welcoming and friendly.
“She comes out there with full steam, with confidence, and you would have never second guessed that this girl has never coached a day in her life before,” Vorlander said. “We love having Grace around. She’s a blast. She lights up the room.”
The running back coach Julius Starlin agreed that Grace brings a fresh outlook to the team.
“It’s just kind of really enlightening,” Starlin said. “You know, honestly, having a different perspective…she’s found a purpose and she’s found things that she can do to learn and benefit the team.”
Whenever there’s a doubt, Cannizzo always comes back to her self motto: “If you know ball, you know ball.”
That is also something she tells her younger self, her current self and young girls who want to break into the sports world.
“Stop doubting yourself,” Cannizzo said. “I’m a big believer in following your heart as opposed to your brain. This is one where I think it’s very applicable, do what you want to do, and things will fall in place.”
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