A true trailblazer: Stanhope’s Heather Marini is making her mark on the American Football scene

American Football.

The most popular sport in the USA, millions of children dream of one day being involved in the game colloquially known as gridiron, whether at college or professional level.

So for a sport-crazed girl from Stanhope to enter this incredibly tough landscape and not only survive, but thrive, speaks to the determination and commitment Marini has for her craft.

Now serving as quarterbacks coach for Division One college Brown University, which recently sent one of its products, EJ Perry, to the NFL, the 32-year-old is regarded as one of the sport’s most exciting young coaches and takes the title of being the first female position coach in college football.

Marini said she was taken aback when she first watched American Football, and has been obsessed with the pigskin ever since.

“Netball and tennis were my main sports growing up and I was majoring in coaching at Deakin when my husband introduced me to (American) Football and I immediately thought this is the craziest sport I’ve ever seen,” Marini said.

“The more I learned about the sport, I realised it was the best bits of all the sport I’d grown up around all put in together, and I just became hooked by it.”

Marini immediately got involved in the sport at Melbourne-based club Monash Warriors, taking a particular liking to the coaching aspect of the game.

Having begun her journey in Melbourne, she outlined the hard work and sacrifice it took for her to learn the skills needed to take on the United States.

“I have been doing this nearly 16 years now and I have had a lot of people supporting my coaching journey,” she said.

“As with everything in life, you get out of it what you put into it and I have been able to take a lot of opportunities that have come my way, whether that be unpaid internships, shadowing coaches and just diving into the industry.

“I was lucky enough to start with a great club in the Monash Warriors in Melbourne where I really grew before deciding to take the plunge and go to the USA.”

Now firmly entrenched in the college system with Brown, Marini said it was incredibly exciting to work with such talented athletes and play her role in developing an offence.

“Being the quarterbacks coach at Brown, it is really exciting; we’ve currently got a terrific bunch of young talent coming through — so my job is really just to nurture that,” she said.

“We play very attacking offence and have a lot of opportunities for quarterbacks to thrive, so wherever I can use my expertise to help these guys get better I will do that.

“Having been together as a staff for a few years now I feel we have really built a solid foundation over the past couple of seasons and are now in a position where we can really attack the nuances of the offence and take it to the next level.”

This rapid development as a coach can be seen by her first quarterback product recently finding his way to the NFL, with Perry moving to Jacksonville after initially being drafted by Philadelphia.

Having worked closely with Perry during his three-year career at Brown, Marini said it was a thrill to see one of her products achieve the ultimate goal of making it to the NFL.

“For EJ to perform at the level that he did and surprise so many people, even though we weren’t surprised, it was such a great thrill,” she said.

“It is a credit to him that he has made it to this level, he’s gritty, he works very hard and he proved that his skills can be translated into NFL offences.

“I am so glad that he has been given this opportunity with Jacksonville, and for me to have played a small role in him getting to where he is, it is a major highlight of my coaching career.”

And despite all of this success in the coaching space, it’s not only the sidelines where she thrives.

Gathering inspiration from her coaching stints, Marini has also built a successful career as a player, suiting up in the quarterback position.

This has included stints in Australia with the Monash Warriors, before playing with the Boston Renegades in the Women’s Football Alliance in America.

Recently selected for the Australian team in the upcoming IFAF World Championships, the all-round talent said it was a huge thrill to not only be able to play the game at such a level but also represent her country too.

“I have had plenty of opportunities to be involved with world championships before on the sidelines, but to actually be on the field this time is very cool,” Marini said.

“Most people go from playing to coaching, so for me to do it the other way around, it is a little bit unique.

“Growing up, I’d always thought I’d be playing for the Australian netball team not American Football team, but the honour isn’t any less and I’m very excited to join my teammates and wear the green and gold.”

So as she continues to climb the ranks as both a player and coach, Marini has the NFL firmly in her sights.

“The NFL would be an incredible place to get to, I have had a bit of a taste of it with Tampa Bay last year and getting to see the best quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, up close, it was pretty special,” she said.

“Over here college sport is such a big thing, so I would love to keep climbing up the ranks in this space and maybe even become a head coach one day.

“For me it is just about taking each opportunity that comes my way, for right now my sole focus is on the players at Brown off the field and with Australia on the field — and tasting that championship success.”