To even attempt to accurately describe June’s N_Ovator of the month is a task that may seem never-ending. Michelle “Mickey” Grace has a personality that is infectious and can bring a smile and laughter to even the most solemn face. With her inviting spirit also comes a great sense of toughness and resiliency that she has both learned and passes on through the game of football.
Grace’s love for the game came to a head during her time at Philadelphia’s Germantown high school. After initially learning how to kick, she was invited to a practice during her junior year, an opportunity she refused to pass up. From there, she was offered a spot on the team, seeing a good share of time on the field on defense.
While Grace simply played the game for sheer enjoyment, she realized that she would be looked at as simply a girl playing a boy’s sport. “It’s definitely a hard thing to deal with. Even I was an advocate of letting the boys have their thing while girls can figure something else out.” After playing herself, she realized that football had a gratifying effect on her physical and mental state that she felt she would not get in any other sport.
After finishing high school, Grace went on to attend West Chester University, but she would keep one foot in the place where she went against the grain to strap her shoulder pads and chin strap. She returned to her former high school, now a part of Martin Luther King High School, to become a defensive coach.
While here playing days were something remarkable, it is her coaching career that she takes great pride in. Despite her knowledge of the game, she’s experienced her fair share of criticism of being a female football coach. “People either think I’m too lady-like or too harsh and I don’t really get a good balance,” she admitted while reflecting on the criticism she has received. “Even the refs are brutal. When the other coaches yell at a player, they will be fine. But when I do it, they always tell me to calm down.”
Although people on the outside may not get the picture, her team holds great value in her presence and influence. From being admittedly shy and quiet as a kid, Grace’s now loud and rambunctious presence plays as the perfect fit for a group of players who need a spark of guidance in a seemingly limited community.
In recent years, the School District of Philadelphia has handed out a slew of budget cuts, many of which have threatened the quality of education for children around the city. Grace uses her role as a defensive coach to not only teach football, but to also supplement lessons her players may be deprived of, and teach values that can only be learned on the field.
“Philly is a very unforgiving place. You’re not allowed to have emotions or things like that. We’re not tagut to help other people cope with their emotions,” Grace said as she described both her upbringing in the city as well as the boys she coaches.
“Statistically, maybe ten of my boys are in gangs and maybe even have guns at sixteen years old.” Because of the rough nature of Philadelphia, Grace feels that it is necessary to use her own toughness to push them to open up and become something greater than they may think they are destined to be.
“For a lot of them, they feel like life starts at 18. Once they finish high school, they just look to get a job and get by,” she said. Grace also realizes that many of her players wouldn’t have even been exposed to the option of college if it were not for football. For some of them, they feel that they can either go to college for football, or not go at all.
“Last year, we only had one academic scholarship out of 32 players. Some have gotten full or partial athletic scholarships but for the rest of them, it’s kind of rough,” Grace said.
She realizes the difficulty in getting some kids to start valuing education after sixteen plus years, but the one message she constantly pushes on her players is to “change the narrative and be the difference.”
When Grace is not on the field, she poses in front of the camera as a model, a hobby that greatly juxtaposes her life on the sidelines.
“It’s very weird to think about, especially when I have to go straight from a gig to a game,” Grace stated as she reflected on the balance of the two. “Some of my boys have no idea so sometimes they might see a picture of me and say ‘Who is this? That’s not you’,” she said laughingly. “It’s very hard to balance because both are time-consuming and you need to study a lot for both.”
With the support of her family, friends, and team, Grace hopes to continue to use the game she loves to teach skills to be used on the field while instilling values to be used throughout life for the young men who simply know her as Coach Mick. Be sure to tune in to Grace’s episode of N_Ov8TV on June 19th to learn more about her gridiron journey.
By : Matthew Brown