Woman fights to play for the NFL

The NFL combine may have just occurred this week, but regional combines are continuing to take place across the country. The New Jersey regional March 2-3 will be historic. Lauren Silberman is a 28-year-old kicker from New York and will be the first woman to ever compete in a regional combine.

The regional scouting combine features players who were not already invited to the main combine held in Indianapolis during the weekend and beginning of this week. The NFL debuted its regional scouting concept in 2011, in which ten cities across the nation hold combines January to March and the top performers go to the super regional in Dallas in April.

Silberman was a club soccer player at Wisconsin and received a Master’s degree from MIT. She owns Double Play, a company that uses video games and virtual technology to help train athletes. According to NFL.com, last Tuesday Silberman was asked in an interview about her historic milestone, which she had previously been unaware of. She responded, “I was not aware that I was the first female registrant. I was actually hoping that the 2012 historical milestone rule, to allow women to play, would prompt more women to attend tryouts this year.”

Most critics and analysts give Silberman slim chances of getting on a roster for the 2013-2014 season, however there is a possibility out there. Do not forget St. Louis Rams rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein was a participant of the regional combines this time last year. No matter what the outcome of the combine is, Silberman is just happy to have the opportunity to participate. She told NFL.com “for me, what’s important is to finally have a chance to fulfill my dreams by trying out to play in the world’s most competitive football league.” She is both hopeful about the opportunity and excited to help advance and strengthen the league for future participants.

Follow Lauren Silberman’s journey on nflregionalcombines.com with the latest news and videos from all the regional combines.