From flag football to the junior varsity football team, sophomore Vanshika Burman has been on the football roster since fourth grade.
Although she originally planned to sign up for soccer, Burman quickly switched to football to play safety and wide receiver. Since then, her interest in football has become a major part of her life.
“The second I stepped on the field, I don’t know what it was, but I just knew that this is the sport that I’m going to stick to for the rest of my life,” Burman said.
Burman is the only girl currently playing for Dougherty Valley’s football team. She views this as her greatest triumph, but also an unexpected circumstance.
“I was shocked that no other girls joined,” Burman said.
Burman’s passion for football motivated her to take a step in the direction toward her goal of high level achievement. Self reflection and motivation are the two main things that Burman emphasizes when speaking about her personal growth in football.
“If I prove that I can get on that starting team,” Burman noted, “I can do whatever they do, then I’ve honestly overcome it, but I still have a lot of things to prove to myself.”
Being the only girl, Burman often finds herself to be her own greatest competitor.
“I’m around people who have been athletes their entire life, they’re meant to lift more than me and honestly, I’m competing against myself from time to time,” states Burman.
Being the only girl on the team hasn’t always been easy for Burman. The rest of the boys have a size advantage, and she has to work twice as hard just to keep up with them. However, finding a community on the team has helped her. Fellow JV team member and sophomore Aneesh Marichetty noted that “at the end of the day, on and off the field, those guys are the ones to have your back.” For Burman, this team dynamic means that she has people to uplift her and help her when times are tough.
“A lot of the times no one would actually relate to it on a one on one level with my experience,” noted Burman.
Although finding a community can be difficult, Burman wants to inspire other girls to do football and continues to work towards becoming the best player she can be.
“I’m nowhere near the level I want to be and there’s always work to do. You go to practice for a reason,” Burman stated.
Pushing herself to be the best player she can be, Burman is paving the way for girls in football at DVHS.
