‘I want to be noticed’: Gymnast-turned-football player Eriks hopes to leave mark at Rock Falls

ROCK FALLS – As the only girl in uniform at Rock Falls football practices, Ryleigh Eriks is hard to miss.

With her infectious energy on the field and the way she carries herself off it, she’s standing out in more ways than one.

“She’s just a leader by example. She goes out there, it doesn’t matter who you line her up against, and it doesn’t really necessarily matter what the result of it is, she goes hard every single time,” Rock Falls coach Kevin Parker said. “And honestly, if you have that out of every single one of your players, you’re going to have a good football team.

“So she really sends that message that she’s gonna go hard. It doesn’t matter what advantages or disadvantages she has on a play, she’s gonna give you her everything. And she gets put down sometimes on her back, but she gets right back up. That’s something that we don’t have to teach her, she already knows.”

Growing up, Eriks’ inclination was dance. From there, her interests shifted, and she moved on to gymnastics. Now, she’s focusing on football.

“I was a dancer first, and then I just kind of got bored of it, I guess. And then I moved to tumbling in gymnastics, so I’ve been doing that for a while, but I kind of took a break, started football,” Eriks said.

Playing wide receiver the first few games, and middle and outside linebacker the last few for the freshmen and fresh/soph teams, Eriks is getting acclimated in her first year of competitive, organized team football.

In middle school, she’d play the sport at recess with friends and classmates. Now, as a high school freshman, she’s trying her hand at real, team-affiliated tackle football.

“I liked to play it at recess in middle school. We didn’t play tackle, but I just always liked the point of the sport,” Eriks said. “Really, I just like the sport itself. I like watching it and the contact.”

Out of the three positions she’s played so far, Eriks says outside linebacker is her favorite.

Through two-thirds of her first football season, her gymnastics background has already been an asset, especially in regards to avoiding injury.

“A couple times when I get tackled, I have to be in a really flexible position,” Eriks said with a grin. “And so I think if I wasn’t that flexible, I definitely would have been hurting.”

As the only girl on the team, Eriks deals with a pretty major inconvenience. Finding a way to change into her uniform in a timely manner can be a real hassle, with no girls locker room to accommodate her and bathroom stalls consistently occupied. Aside from that, though, she feels a sense of belonging and support from her male teammates.

“It’s a little annoying because, as you can see, I was late because people are always in the bathrooms, so it’s just hard to change and stuff,” Eriks said, of being the only girl on the team. “Other than that, everyone’s nice. Everyone’s, I think, supportive, and I’m just another player.”

Over the next three-plus years, Eriks has some lofty goals she wants to achieve. She doesn’t want to be just another member of the team, she wants to be an impact player for varsity. She also hopes to have her name written in the Rock Falls record books someday.

“Maybe set some records. I want to play all four years,” Eriks said, referencing her goals as a high school football player. “When I get up on to varsity, I just want to succeed and not just be a player on the team. I want to be noticed.”

With her desire to win and motivation to improve, Eriks is off to a good start as she strives for her ambitious goals.

“Just constantly hustling to the ball, never stops. Gets put down, gets right back up,” Parker said. “I think one of the things I remember about her, too, is I have to chase her out of the weight room after a practice.

“What you want out of an athlete, you get from Ryleigh.”