Houston athlete enjoys great start with new sport

HOUSTON — With three girls’ sports on her list of activities, Aspen Ruth was already one of the busiest student-athletes at Houston High School.

Outside hitter on the volleyball court in the fall, forward on the hardwood during the winter and star on the soccer field in the spring, Ruth has her sports calendar packed. But the multisport standout has added to her list of teams at Houston High. Ruth, already a starter in three different sports, is now the starting placekicker on the Houston varsity football squad. Ruth made her football debut Aug. 14, kicking an extra point a 30-yard field goal to help the Hawks rally to a 22-14 win over the Homer Mariners.

Now Ruth has a new fall routine. She spends the first 30 minutes of her afternoon after school on the football field, steadily booting footballs through the uprights. After the Hawks finish with special teams practice, Ruth runs into the Houston gymnasium to join the volleyball squad for the remainder of its practice.

“It’s been pretty good so far,” Ruth said during a Houston football practice Wednesday afternoon. “I got the schedules early. I’ve got to know where I’m going and what sport I’m doing when there’s conflict. I figured that out early. Both coaches know, and everybody is cool with it.”

Ruth, a soccer player most of her life, said she hadn’t really kicked a football, other than messing around with friends, before joining the Houston football squad. She said classmates had urged her to join the team and kick. Finally, she decided to give it a shot.

“The guys said, ‘You should come be our kicker.’ Finally, I was like, ‘What do I got to lose? I might as well come and try out,’” Ruth said.

Houston head coach Glenn Nelson had not met Ruth before the junior asked to join the team. It didn’t take long before Nelson was ready to put her on the roster.

“I said, let’s see if you can kick some, and she started booting ’em,” Nelson said. “We put her on both hashes, and they were flying through the goal posts. We said, ‘You’re on.’”

The newest member of Nelson’s squad made a quick impact. During Houston’s season opener against Homer Aug. 14, the Hawks were trailing in the second half. Stuck at the Homer 15-yard line on fourth down, Nelson sent Ruth onto the field for her first career field goal attempt.

“We were just making sure we’ve got max protection, and we weren’t going to get her run over the first time,” Nelson said. “We wanted to make sure we got a good, solid snap, and give her an honest chance at it.”

The Hawks lined up at the 15, with the holder at the 20. Malaki Barrett made the snap to holder Kolby Taylor, and Ruth stepped up and knocked the ball through the uprights.

“It was a great snap, everybody blocked well and she stepped up and booted it right through,” Nelson said.

Ruth said she was certainly nervous when she stepped in to try the kick.

“I was kind of freaking out,” Ruth said. “When it was good, it felt so good. Felt really good inside knowing it went through. I scored in my first game, that’s pretty awesome.”

Ruth said she didn’t even realize the distance of the field goal until after. She just knew she had practiced kicking the ball from the 20-yard line.

Nelson said Ruth’s field goal lifted the team at a key time.

“We were down in the game, and things hadn’t been going well. We wanted to put some points on the board, so we called timeout and put her in there,” Nelson said. “She booted that through, and the crowd cheered, the kids cheered. You’d think they were about ready to pull down the goal post. It was a huge momentum swing for us. After that, (Homer) never scored another point.”

Nelson said Ruth could provide an advantage for the Hawks this season as Houston works through its 2015 schedule.

“(A kicker) is a huge weapon in high school, especially in small schools when you’ve got somebody who can kick 30-yard field goals from either hash,” Nelson said.

In addition to Ruth’s powerful right leg, Nelson said he’s also been impressed with the junior’s attitude.

“When the kick doesn’t go her way, she doesn’t get frustrated. She just asks how she can do it better,” Nelson said.

Ruth said she’s having fun with her new sport, working on the technical side of kicking, timing and footwork, while adding to the distance of her field goals.

It’s not unheard of for a girl to participate in high school football in Alaska. Service High School in Anchorage has had a string of girls kick for the Cougars in recent years. Last season, Sarah Brumbaugh, a girls’ basketball standout, joined the Colony football team. But it is fairly rare, and Ruth is aiming to be among the best.

Alaska does not have an official source for high school football records, but according to the website luckyshow.org, former Service kicker Meghan Dotten kicked a 38-yard field goal during a 31-21 quarterfinal playoff win over Palmer in 2010. Once Ruth heard that, she was ready to go after it.

Now she has her sights set on 40 yards.

“I’m starting to move back a little bit. I want to make my way to the 30, to hit that 40-yard field goal,” Ruth said.