{"id":8774,"date":"2017-09-16T15:47:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-16T15:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=8774"},"modified":"2026-05-13T18:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:32:14","slug":"meza-kicks-with-the-boys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/meza-kicks-with-the-boys\/","title":{"rendered":"Meza kicks with the boys"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In 1985, Shaylene Leinbach became the first female to play football at Madera High School. More than 30 years later years later, varsity kicker Brisa Meza is following in her footsteps.<\/p>

\u201cJust keep focused,\u201d Leinbach said. \u201cDon\u2019t let anyone discourage you, just go for it everyday. If you give your best, you won\u2019t have any regrets.\u201d<\/p>

Meza\u2019s point after on Madera\u2019s lone touchdown in last week\u2019s win over Hanford proved to be the difference in the 7-6 game. This season, Meza has made five extra points and also hit a 33-yard field goal in Madera\u2019s win over Mission Oak.<\/p>

\u201cWhat I love most about playing football is being under those Friday night lights with my team,\u201d Meza said. \u201cThat\u2019s my favorite part of it all.\u201d<\/p>

Meza was in action Friday night when the Coyotes hosted the Merced Bears in the \u201cGovernor\u2019s Hat\u201d game in Memorial Stadium.<\/p>

Meza, 15, was born in Chowchilla, but later moved to Madera when she was in second grade. Coming from a big family, Meza had many influences in her life.<\/p>

Her parents along with her brothers and cousins provided her an upbringing some girls aren\u2019t accustomed to.<\/p>

\u201cShe grew up around a lot of boys,\u201d Brisa\u2019s brother Ricardo Meza, 23, said. \u201cI think there was about 15 of us between cousins and stuff too and about maybe five girls. She was just a tough girl. I\u2019m not surprised where she is.\u201d<\/p>

Meza is always open to try new things, her brother said, part of what makes her unique.<\/p>

\u201cI remember I taught her how to weld,\u201d Meza said. \u201cShe watched me and learned, then took a few classes. She\u2019s just open to new things.\u201d<\/p>

Brisa was first introduced to soccer when she was in grade school and with her family background in the sport, naturally, she took to it.<\/p>

Meza thought about playing football, but never really envisioned herself playing, but now that she\u2019s on the team, she\u2019s still getting used to the boy-dominant sport.<\/p>

Leinbach, 47, faced similar obstacles, mainly the unwanted attention.<\/p>

\u201cThe biggest thing was resentment from a lot of the guys,\u201d Leinbach said. \u201cSome guys thought it was disruptive to the team and that things were focused on me.<\/p>

\u201cWhen boys are brought up, they aren\u2019t allowed to hit girls so it was hard for them.\u201d<\/p>

For Meza, just changing into her gear was an obstacle.<\/p>

\u201cIt was kind of different, at first,\u201d Meza said. \u201cWith having to change in a different area and things like that, but the team is always nice and encouraging.\u201d<\/p>

On the field though, there isn\u2019t much worry, her brother said.<\/p>

\u201cWe take a risk everyday walking out the front door,\u201d Ricardo said. \u201cI\u2019m excited for her when she\u2019s out there and, after the game, I encourage her and let her know how she did.\u201d<\/p>

Meza has had her ups and downs on the field but with head coach Yosef Fares\u2019 encouragement, things became easier.<\/p>

Meza said his words allow her to forget about the last kick or play and move forward. Having a short-term memory is key, especially for a kicker.<\/p>

Although Meza still has a few years left in high school, she\u2019s set her sights on maybe getting a scholarship.<\/p>

The challenge of earning a spot on a college team continues to motivate Meza, but it\u2019s the love of the game that fuels her just like it did for Leinbach years ago.<\/p>

\u201cI love being around my (football) brothers during practices, film, before games, creating memories, and being able to say I\u2019m one of them,\u201d Meza said.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1985, Shaylene Leinbach became the first female to play football at Madera High School. More than 30 years later years later, varsity kicker Brisa Meza is following in her footsteps. \u201cJust keep focused,\u201d Leinbach said. \u201cDon\u2019t let anyone discourage you, just go for it everyday. If you give your best, you won\u2019t have any […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":34662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-8774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-schools"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}