“I wanted to be the best I could be.” Desiree Scheneman is a Junior here at Sahuaro High School, and up until this year,  the only female on the football team. She joined the all-male team Freshman year, originally getting into football because she was bored. After a week, she fell in love. Her extra time went into learning and memorizing plays. She soon started to love watching football as well, as before she wasn’t a giant fan. She enjoyed watching because it improved her as a player, and as she watched she would say to herself, “Oh I can do that,” or “I want to try that.” This pretty much sums up Desiree as an athlete – fearless and willing to go the distance, regardless of the sport.  Desiree became truly passionate about the game, wanting to continuously better herself. She first started watching football with her parents, who are NFL fans. During her first game, her parents were supportive, but also very nervous. After watching her play, they were no longer scared.

But this year, there was a change. It was time for her to move up to Varsity, but she was told that she wasn’t going to be able to play. At all. After all the team’s mishaps with quarantining due to Covid, she was told that she wasn’t able to play because “she wasn’t as good as the boys.” She had played her entire Freshman year, getting her first tackle as a first down stop. Being told that she couldn’t play this year was disheartening for her, especially with how much she cared about football.

Desiree’s main hobby is athletics so as anyone can imagine, this was a hard thing to hear. However, she is a tenacious athlete, and along with football, she also plays soccer and runs track. She is a defensive player in both soccer and football, mostly playing safety, corner, and receiver. She first started playing football, then she wanted to stay active, so she joined soccer. Then the coaches wanted all of football to run track, so she started running. Rather than sit on the bleachers, Desiree made the decision to quit the team and focus on sports and coaches who would work with her.  She still wants to continue playing soccer and running track, because sports are a big deal to her. She had always been motivated in school, and sports continue to keep motivating her.

In track, she runs the 100-meter, throws shot put, and discus. One of her favorite parts about track is her coach, Coach Lou, who is also the JV coach, and one of her coaches for her first year. “He is a great coach, and he’s one of my favorites.” Coach Lou was a great help to her during the JV football seasons and the track season.

After everything that has happened with football, Desiree continues to keep doing athletics and doing the best she can. For anyone, getting told you can’t make the cut might make them want to shun the sport altogether, but she continues to assist the team in any way she can. She offers to volunteer at the snack bar and help out when needed. Desiree is a true inspiration to anyone around her, keeping a positive attitude after everything that has happened.