Sam Gordon, Football Star: Litte Girl Outruns, Outscores the Boys
9-Year-Old's Football Skills Are Impressive
Sam Gordon's football stats are certainly impressive: 35 touchdowns on 232 carries, 65 tackles, 1,911 yards total this year, and a spectacular average of 8.2 yards per carry. What makes this 9-year-old special, though, is that she's the only girl blowing past all the boys in Utah's Ute Conference, and she has gained a lot of attention for it.
Sam Gordon's football prowess became an internet sensation after her father, Brent, recorded and posted a highlight video of her accomplishments during her only year playing football in the Gremlin league. The youth league takes place in the Salt Lake City area, and the 60-pound-girl has impressed many with her skills, earning the place of quarterback and her nickname, "Sweet Feet."
Even though the diminutive player can "follow blocks like a college football player," her coach Chris Staib told Yahoo! Sports, there is even more to her success: toughness.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"I started her out in soccer at 4 years old and we would play out in the yard and my (older) son's friends were pretty aggressive and rough," her father Brent was quoted by Daily Mail. "She could really handle a lot of the physical play. There were some games where she'd fall down and keep going. She would get kicked in the face, kicked in the gut and just keep going."
Mr. Gordon said that Sam's rough style of play was "not something I taught her."
It's certainly paid off. Samantha will tackle boys twice her size, and even threw herself at one large boy weighing 150 pounds. Now that Sam's YouTube video has been posted, it went viral quickly, gaining over 2 million views in just a few days.
"I wasn't really sure what kind of response people would have," Brent told "Good Morning America" via Skype. "I thought it was impressive and it appears that other people enjoy watching her as well."
She is on pace to keep winning too— out of 172 kids in her district, she was the fastest at all the speed and agility drills. Even though she's only been playing football for a year— she originally played soccer, after watching Brigham Young University games with her dad— she loves dominating the boys in football.
"Most of the times it's just really fun to be the one scoring touchdowns rather than the boys," Sam said.
