From left, Alondra Sanchez, Makayla Handley, Avi Fanini and Iranis Julio will all suit up this fall for the Lynn Tech football team. Photo by Bob Roche
By Katie Morrison
LYNN — If you can play, you’re welcome to try out for the Lynn Tech football team.
Even if you’re a girl.
Tech student-athletes Avi Fanini and Makayla Handley have worked hard to earn spots on the football team this fall, and they’re proving they’re more than capable of competing with the boys.
Fanini, a junior, joined the the junior varsity squad last season as head coach James Runner’s first ever female football player.
“She plays against all varsity players,” Runner said of Fanini. “When we call the varsity team, she always comes over. She’s hitting with all of the starting guys.”
Fanini’s always had a passion for football, one she shared with her brother, Adhiel, who encouraged her to try out for the team at Lynn Tech. Friday marked the two-year anniversary of Adhiel’s passing, and Fanini says everything she does, she does with him in mind.
“(He’s) the main motivation for everything I do,” Fanini said. “When I wake up, I say he can’t wake up the way I do today, so I’m doing everything I do in memory of him.”
That includes, especially, playing football.
Last summer, she decided to take her brother’s advice and go out for the team.
“He always tried to tell me I should go out for football, and the year he wasn’t here, I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to do it. I’ll do it for him,’” she said. “He would have been on a whole other level of happiness if he was here to see me play.”
Fanini says she can hear Adhiel’s words of encouragement when she’s out on the field, urging her to keep pushing.
“He would tell me to keep going, never stop,” she said. “He’d push me. I can hear him in my head, pushing me.”
For Fanini, football is a way to release pent-up emotion and anger in a healthy way. Being a part of the team also provides her with a support system, she said.
“Coach Runner is always on me, always supporting me and pushing me to go the extra mile,” she said.
The team welcomed Fanini with open arms last season, and there’s little doubt that her success played a role in Handley’s decision to play.
Handley, a three-sport athlete at Tech, could easily be considered one of the school’s top all-around athletes. The senior competes in relays, shotput and discus for the track team. There aren’t many sports she hasn’t tried her hand at, and, entering her senior year, she couldn’t shake the desire to hit the gridiron.
“I always wanted to play since my freshman year,” Handley said. “When I found out Avi was doing it, I said, ‘I got this. I think I can go through with this.’”
“Makayla’s been my top female athlete the past three years,” said Runner, who also coaches Tech’s track team. “She told me last year she was thinking of trying out for football, and I told her she was crazy, and she said she really, really wanted to do it.”
Runner gladly welcomed Handley, knowing what a gifted athlete she is.
“Makayla is a prototypical athlete,” he said. “She doesn’t take no for an answer. She works extremely hard, every day, pushing and grinding like all the other boys.”
But, when it comes to playing a contact sport, there’s always the concern of injury.
“I was kind of nervous about getting hurt,” Handley said. “But I also did Taekwondo for eight years, so I was like, ‘I can do this.’ Everything just came together.”
For now, Handley’s role will be with the JV, like any other first-year player. Fanini is the starting guard for the JV team, and is always in the middle of the action.
“She plays against all varsity players too,” Runner said. “She’s hitting with all of the starting guys. Now she’s the one calling the commands on the line of scrimmage. … It’s impressive.”
During Fanini’s first game last season, Runner recalled a play that she broke through the opponent’s offensive line, and made a tackle in the backfield.
“The crowd went crazy,” he said. “All of the players lost their minds.”
Runner has proof the girls are able to hold their own against the competition, holding them to the same standard as their male counterparts.
“When I say we don’t treat them any differently…we can’t, because the teams we play against won’t treat them any different,” Runner said. “They do everything that the guys do, and they’re a great inspiration for all of the female athletes out there.”
Runner, who has a daughter of his own, says he has a soft spot for the Fanini and Handley, but “at the end of the day, I don’t protect them on this field because they protect themselves.”
Fanini and Handley’s success story has sparked interest among younger girls at Tech. Freshmen Alondra Sanchez and Iranis Julio tried for the team this season. Runner said he was impressed by both.
“Iranis is playing quarterback at a freshman level,” he said, “and Alondra is…let’s just say she’s very athletic. Her first day in the weight room, she benched 185 pounds and deadlifted it off the ground. She’s unbelievable.”
Fanini and Handley agree that they’ve been met with a warm reception from their teammates.
“All of the guys, they respect us, they treat us the same,” Handley said. “We feel like a part of the team. I thought maybe there’d be some separation, but no, we all get treated the same, and I appreciate it.”
Runner thinks that the addition of the girls can help the rest of his team learn an invaluable lesson.
“It’s a good lesson for the team to learn outside of football as well, how to treat a woman,” he said. “Not only are we teaching football here, we’re teaching life lessons. It’s good for me and my coaching staff, and my players as well.”
Runner hopes Fanini and Handley will help inspire other girls to pursue something they may have previously thought was off-limits.
“I think that these girls will impact female athletes at our school, and I’m proud to say I had a part in that,” he said. “I’m proud to say they’re going to represent our team in the right manner.”
