Kenzie Ramsey: Female Kicker on the Warrenton High School Football Team

Kenzie Ramsey is an unconventional young woman that likes to play sports and go fishing. She doesn’t care about going to school dances or many of the other things that other girls at her school are into, but she’s fine with that. She’s happy standing out from the crowd and being her authentic self. 

As kicker for Warrenton High School, now in her 4th year on the team, she may be the most accomplished female kicker in state history. In the past two seasons, her record is a remarkable 77 of 80 extra-point attempts. She also serves as team captain and is greatly respected by her male teammates and coaching staff.

I asked her if she’s ever been made fun of or bullied as a female player in an all-boys league. She said her colleagues have been nothing but supportive since she first started playing in 8^th grade. Once though, a player on another team said something derogatory that she didn’t hear, but her teammates immediately went to her defense and shut him down. It’s the kind of thing that happens in competitive sports. Competitors try to get under each other’s skin and cause them to get distracted, but it didn’t work on Kenzie. She performed better than ever!

Kenzie was born in Florence and moved to Warrenton with her mother when she was just a toddler. Her biological father lives in Corpus Christy Texas and served in the Coast Guard for 20 years. I asked her what her mom thinks about her being a football player and she admitted that it took some time to convince her to let her play. Her mom works as a registered nurse and has probably seen her share of sports injuries. As a mother myself, I imagine Ramsey’s mom was probably hesitant because she was afraid of Kenzie getting hurt or bullyed, but it’s obviously been very rewarding for her and a good decision.

When I asked her about how she got so good at kicking, she had to stop and think. “I just do it,” she said, “and I practice a lot.” Her confidence is contagious. Ramsey also plays club soccer, softball, and basketball. She easily won the varsity kicking job on her football team as a freshman and applied because the school didn’t have a soccer team. She’s also played receiver and safety in Junior Varsity games during her sophomore and junior years. 

Kenzie holds the record at her school for three-point shots in basketball. She made eight three-pointers in a single game and an astounding 104 in a season. In 2019-2019 she was first-team all-league and third-team all-state. So far, her furthest kick was a 45-yard field goal, and that was this past summer when she was practicing some kicks on her own. The furthest she’s made in practice was 35 yards. 

Ramsey doesn’t have much free time. Even her summers are packed with coaching tournament softball, going to basketball practices and practicing her kicking. Recently she’s been busy applying for colleges. She wants to get a degree in education and then return to Warrenton to teach. So far, she’s applied at Eastern Oregon and Lower Columbia hoping to stay fairly close to home. Kenzie plans to continue playing basketball in College. She currently plays the 2 Guard position and is really looking forward to playing College ball.

Kenzie Ramsey is a big Seattle Seahawk’s fan and her favorite player is Russel Wilson. In basketball she follows her father’s favorite team, the Golden State Warriors. She likes Klay Thompson because she feels like he’s very well rounded and quietly confident.  She says she tries to plays like that and let her actions do the talking. 

As for female players, she really admires Sabrina Ionescu, a stand-out player with the University of Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team. Ionescu is renowned as the NCAA all-time leader in career triple-doubles. Ramsey loves the way she passes the ball to her teammates and has a lot of respect for her dedication and focus. 

I spent just a small amount of time talking with Kenzie Ramsey but she left a big impression on me. She’s an articulate, driven young woman with clear goals. She knows who she is and what she wants. She left me feeling hopeful for her generation and confident that we haven’t heard the end of Kenzie Ramsey. I’m sure she’ll experience continued success in all of her future endeavors!