A women’s tackle football team from the Capital District will compete for a national championship this weekend and an account executive from The Daily Star will be starting on the offensive line.
Laura Clarke, a Unatego graduate who lives in Otego, starts as the left guard for the New York Knockouts, an American Women’s Football League team that plays at Lansingburgh High School in Troy.
The Knockouts will play the Carolina Stars in the Emerald Bowl on Saturday, July 25, in San Antonio.
“It means everything to us,” Clarke said in an email exchange Friday, July 17. “When you see your coach holding back tears, you know being proud is an understatement. We have worked hard to get where we are, and our coaches put a lot of time into us.”
Clarke said she had been playing flag football locally for a couple of years before she saw an ad last year for the Knockouts.
“I’m currently the only woman on my local flag football team — for now! That experience gave me the confidence to dream a little bigger,” she said. “One day, while scrolling through Facebook, I came across an ad for the New York Knockouts, an all-women’s tackle football team based out of Albany. They had tryouts coming up, and I told myself I had to go — even if it was just to see what I was capable of … I made the team and signed a contract with the New York Knockouts, and it’s been an incredible journey ever since.”
The Knockouts won the eight-team Atlantic Division, going 6-0, then won three playoff games to win the Northeast Conference and advance to the championship. They beat the Columbus Mystics, 20-12, on July 11, in Ohio, to advance to the finals.
“The bond on this team is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” Clarke said. “We have an incredible group of women who are respectful, supportive, and genuinely care about one another. It’s more than just being teammates — we’ve become family. I truly believe that’s one of the biggest reasons we’ve been so successful. We push each other to be better, celebrate each other’s victories, and pick one another up when things get tough.”
And things can get tough. All the players have full-time jobs, most have families to support, and some like Clarke, have long commutes to practice.
“Playing tackle football is definitely a major time commitment, but it’s something I love,” Clarke said.
“We begin indoor practices in January in Troy, which is nearly a two-hour drive for me each way,” she said. “Once the weather improves, we move outdoors to our practice field at Pop Warner in Rotterdam, which is about an hour and 10 minutes away. We typically practice for several hours on Saturdays or Sundays, although we occasionally have extended or double practices.”
Still, Clarke said her teammates are inspiring and the experience is something she will always cherish.
“The toughness, resilience and support these women show each other is one of the things I admire most about being part of this team,” she said.
Clarke said she also loves being a role model for younger athletes.
“One moment, in particular, really changed everything for me,” Clarke said. “A woman who regularly came to our flag games with her young daughter came up to me after a game and said, ‘I bring my daughter here so she can watch you. You’re an inspiration, and I want her to see that she can do the same thing.’ Hearing those words meant more to me than she probably realized.”
The Emerald Bowl will start at 8 p.m., Eastern, on Saturday, and can be viewed at OnlyOnClutch.com.