First-Ever Woman Football Coach
Natalie Randolph downplays history, focuses on football.
If you missed it, Friday, March 12, was officially “Natalie Randolph Day” in Washington, D.C., but the hoopla and media frenzy will continue for some time. On Friday, officials at D.C.’s Calvin Coolidge High School announced that Natalie Randolph will coach their football team, making her the first woman football coach in American history.
Randolph told reporters that she has loved the game since she was five years old, and she joked that when she asked her father if she could play in high school, he replied, “Absolutely no!” She ran track in college, and then she went on to excel as a wide receiver for the “D.C. Divas” of the Independent Women’s Football League. As a player, Randolph built a reputation for speed, quickness, and exceptionally sure hands.
As a coach, Randolph looks forward to a winning record. Asked if some of the players had issues with playing for a woman coach, Randolph explained, “A few of them had concerns, but they came to me, and we talked through them.” Appearing with Randolph at several Friday press conferences, the players expressed wholehearted support for their new coach, saying that they share her dedication to excellence. As a science teacher and assistant football coach at Coolidge High, Randolph has won high praise from students, parents, and colleagues, all of whom agree, “She demands excellence from herself and her students.”
Echoing the sentiment in an interview with Campbell Brown on CNN, Randolph said, “I set very high standards for myself,” and she downplayed the historic significance of her appointment. She agreed that she is enjoying the moment, but she was the first to say, “In the fall, when we get on the field, it will be all about football. I am excited, and the team is excited, and I am sure the excitement will build from now until the fall.”
