Sarah Schkeeper is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

New York Sharks The New York Sharks were a women's American football team that was based in New York City. Their final season in 2018 was played as a member team of the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). They were the longest running and most winning team in women ...

. Nicknamed "The Viking" because she wears braided pigtails in games, she joined the New York Sharks in 2009 as a rookie and has started in every career game. She was also nicknamed "The Crypt-Schkeeper" by her teammates. Due to moving out of the area she stopped playing for the

after the 2013 season. She has since started a team in the

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

area, called the Richmond Black Widows.

Early years

The youngest of three children Schkeeper was raised in

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,366, reflecting an increase of 1,975 (+7.2%) from the 27,391 counted in the 2000 Census. In 2019, the Population Estimates Prog ...

with her two older brothers by her mother. Though she played football with the boys growing up Schkeeper didn't play an organized sport until joining the

in 2009.

Football career

New York Sharks

Schkeeper plays guard for the

, the longest running and winningest professional women's football team in history. She has started as either right or left

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

in every career game.

USA National Team

In 2013, through a nationwide tryout held in Austin, Texas, she was selected to represent the US as part of USA Football's National Women's Team in the second IFAF Woman's World Championship to be held in Vantaa, Finland. They beat Sweden 84-0 and Germany 107–7 to advance to the gold medal match in which they beat Canada 64–0. She was the starting Right Guard.

Richmond Black Widows

In 2015, Schkeeper started a team in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, called the Richmond Black Widows. The team will be a part of the

Women's Football Alliance The Women's Football Alliance (WFA) is a professional full-contact Women's American football tackle minor league that began play in 2009. It is the largest 11-on-11 football league for women in the world, and the longest running active women's ...

. The team started in the 2016 season.

Personal

An avid cyclist, Schkeeper has been hit twice by vehicles (a van and an SUV truck) within a 4-month span before the start of the 2010 season while cycling in Brooklyn and suffered no broken bones (her injuries were limited to a concussion and a dislocated rib that went untreated for 6 months) earning her a reputation among her teammates for being "unbreakable". She also enjoys playing full contact flag football with several of her teammates on a team called The Honey Badgers. She was filmed for two NYC news channels and in both filmings she tackled the reporters.

References

External links

Richmond Black Widows American football offensive linemen American sportswomen Living people Female players of American football Sportspeople from Livingston, New Jersey Players of American football from Essex County, New Jersey Players of American football from New York (state) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women {{offensive-lineman-1990s-stub