U.S. women’s soccer star Carli Lloyd was given an opportunity to make history. As reported by FOX Sports, Lloyd received an offer from an NFL team to kick in a preseason game. According to her trainer James Galanis, Lloyd was interested in the offer, but she had to turn it down since the game conflicted with the women’s national team match against Portugal.
“Knowing Carli, I don’t think she would just hop on and do it,” Galanis said. “She would need a couple of weeks training just to get comfortable and acclimatized. But things have escalated and it is real.
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“I think Carli is perfectly made out for a job like that. She loves the pressure. She’s got one of the hardest kicks in the world when it comes to women. She is great at long range balls, she displayed that by scoring a goal from just past the halfway line in a World Cup final, and she is definitely in tune with the mechanics. She would be an ideal candidate.”
The reason Lloyd was contacted by an NFL team is she was kicking 55-yard field goals at Philadelphia Eagles practice last week. When asked if she thinks she could kick in the NFL, Lloyd was confident she could get the job done.
US 🇺🇸 women’s soccer champ from Delran, NJ @CarliLloyd nailed a 55 yard field goal after @Eagles practice. She is accurate!
With some coaching from @jake_elliott22 #Eagles pic.twitter.com/Hzm1A25HQO
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 20, 2019
“I know that I could actually probably do it. Put on the helmet, strap on the pads, go for it,” Lloyd said, per Peter King’s Football Morning in America. “The mindset I have, I think with practice, I know I have to work on my steps and my technique, but I think I could do it and do it well. It could be a huge pivotal moment. There is no reason why a woman could not do this. And I actually invite the pressure. I love the pressure. When I have to nail something — shooting hoops, ax-throwing, kicking a field goal — that is the moment I live for and want.”
Galanis did not reveal the NFL team the contacted Lloyd, but a number of teams did talk to her as soon as they saw the video of her kicking at Eagles practice. NFL teams conclude the preseason on Thursday, so this is likely that was the only chance Lloyd could tryout for a team this year.
