Cassey Brick has a solid sporting background that just continues to grow.
She started playing basketball in fourth grade, and played through college. Brick as a senior at Costa Mesa High School in California in 2004, was named the Athlete of the Year, and she was the team captain for her junior and senior seasons. She then was the team captain at both Irvine Valley College and California State Polytechnic University of Pomona.
Brick also competed in track and field in high school and ran on the cross-country team.
And then there's her football career, which is still filled with highlights.
Brick started playing tackle football in 2009 with the California Lynx. She moved to the Pacific Warriors in 2010 and was a First-Team All-American. She played for the Central Cal War Angels in 2011and again was a First-Team All-American. Brick played for the San Diego Surge in 2012 and 2013, even claiming the MVP of the National Championship Game in 2012.
And that's when she certainly caught the eye of the Chicago Force.
Brick and the Surge defeated the Force in that 2012 title game.
"I absolutely love playing tackle football," Brick said. "The physicality, the competitiveness, the camaraderie … did I say the physicality? Ha, my favorite is the adrenaline rush I get after getting hit."
In 2013, Brick was one of the 45 women selected to represent the U.S. in the Women's World Cup in Finland. Force head coach John Konecki was the head coach for the U.S. National Team, too. "Having the opportunity to play for him was a great experience and I wanted to learn more from him, so, in order to do so, I needed to move to Chicago and play for the Force. I ended up making the drive from Southern California to Chicago in late January 2015," she said.
Brick said the 2012 National Championship Game, played at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, and the 2013 stint with Team USA have been her football highlights, so far.
"Football is a very physically demanding sport," she said. "You will be sore. There may be injuries, some more serious than others, but there's a difference between boo-boos and injuries. As a running back, we get hit a lot. So you push through the pain.
"The level we play at is the highest out there for women's tackle football. It's not for the light-hearted. There's a lot of preparation and preseason training that goes into making a successful season. That means training on your own outside of practice to keep yourself game ready."
Brick added, "I've enjoyed playing different sports growing up, but nothing compares to the amount of fun I have playing football. My love for the game far exceeds the love I had for playing basketball, and basketball was my sport growing up. I tried walking away from football back in 2014, [but] something about the game just draws me to it. It's not only the sport, but it's also the sisterhood and bond you create with so many great women who share your love for the sport.
"My life would be so different if I hadn't tried out back in 2009."
- Age: 29
- Hobbies: Football, basketball, lifting, arts and crafts, and anything outdoors
- Residence: Schaumburg
- Orientation: Lesbian
- Job title: EMT for Superior Ambulance Services
- Favorite TV show: Grey's Anatomy
- Favorite movie: Dirty Dancing
- Favorite Chicago restaurant: Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe
- Favorite NFL player: Peyton Manning
- Favorite app: Snapchat
- Little-known fact: "In third grade, I had to get 38 stitches in my forehead from playing a game of hide-and-seek."