Maya Turner makes history in Canadian university football — University Affairs

Confidence and the ability to stay calm under pressure – those two attributes are what Maya Turner says make a good football kicker, and two attributes that helped her make Canadian football history.

“If others see your confidence … then they’ll believe in you as well,” said the 21-year-old athlete.

Last September, Ms. Turner, a former NCAA Division 1 soccer player, became the first woman to not only play in a regular season university football game but also score points. The kicker scored two field goals for the University of Manitoba Bisons, with the second field goal in double overtime earning the Bisons a 27-24 win over the University of Regina Rams.

Ms. Turner was nervous for this first game, knowing all eyes would be on her – even in the warmup, she felt many cameras focused on her, something she wasn’t expecting, at least this intense and so soon. But she was excited to play, which outweighed the nerves.

“When it came down to it and it was my chance to kick, I was confident that I was prepared enough to do what I needed to do,” Ms. Turner said. “It was just so exciting being able to score the first points and then ending up scoring the points that would win us the game in overtime.”

Originally from Minneapolis, Ms. Turner was playing NCAA Division 1 soccer at Loyola University Chicago when she decided to make a change.

“I was really burnt out, and I just really didn’t enjoy it,” she said. “I knew soccer was only impacting me negatively at that point. If something’s no longer serving you, you have to let it go in order to find peace.”

She then decided to try football. It was a sport she had always liked, and ball striking was her best skill as a soccer player, so she thought it could be a good match. She made the Loyola team, and after playing a season, she realized with some more training, she might make it onto a university team.

Working with kicking coaches, she put together a tryout film and reached out to coaches at universities across North America.

Brian Dobie at UM was one of these coaches. After seeing her kick in-person, he immediately offered her a spot on the team.

“As outstanding an athlete as Maya is, what impressed me the most about her was who she is,” Mr. Dobie said. “She is highly motivated, driven, and approaches every day as a consummate professional. It’s what she’s about – her tremendous character – that tells me that she is an athlete who will do everything it takes to be the best that she can be. Who doesn’t want that type of person on their team?”

Ms. Turner said throughout the season, her teammates and coaches were supportive and treated her like anyone else on the team.

“I think that they saw that when I showed up, I came here to work hard and earn my spot, and I was dedicated,” she said. “I think they could see how much I loved football, how much I wanted to play, and how much I worked at it, and I think that helped me earn their respect.”

Mr. Dobie said having Ms. Turner play for the Bisons brought the team together.

“They [Maya teammates] recognize her path was so much more difficult than theirs, and they recognize the unfairness of the obstacles placed in front of her,” he said. “Her unrelenting fight through adversity had a tremendous bonding affect on our Bison football team.”

It has been inspiring for Ms. Turner to see other women make their way in traditionally male-dominated sports, such as NCAA players Sarah Fuller, who kicked for Vanderbilt University, and Kristie Elliott, who kicked for Simon Fraser University.

“I thought, if they can do it, I can do it,” she said.

Now, Ms. Turner has the chance to have this same inspiring impact on others.

“Maya just wanted to play a sport at a highly competitive level that was not offered to women. She wanted to compete, she wanted to be part of a team, and she wanted to have the experience that goes with it,” Mr. Dobie said. “Her motivation and path is true and pure. That’s her impact; she’s simply a teammate doing her job every day like everyone else.”

Ms. Turner has three years left to play with the Bisons and will continue studying fine arts at the University of Manitoba. She’s not sure what will come after that, but she’d like to keep playing football at the highest level she can, whether that’s on a men’s or women’s team.