Lauren Silberman: First female in NFL regional combines

Move over men! The game of football is no longer just for you.

Lauren Silberman, 28, of New York City will participate as a kicker in the NFL regional combines, making her the first female to ever register.

“I was not aware that I was the first female registrant,” Silberman told NFL.com on Feb. 19. “I was actually hoping that the 2012 historical milestone rule, to allow women to play, would prompt more women to attend tryouts this year. But 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.”

Silberman is no ordinary kicker, either. She wrote a Master’s thesis at MIT about how athletes use video games to enhance their own performance. She then founded a consulting company called Double Play that helps athletes use video games for virtual training purposes.

Silberman will be competing against plenty of other good college kickers. She is truly the underdog in the regional combine.

“The opportunity to attend this event could not be more exciting,” Silberman said. “Getting to meet interesting people and perfect my technique from others could not be more rewarding. … Regardless of the outcome of the tryout, I hope there is a way I can contribute and strengthen the league.”

Silberman will try out March 2-3 when the New Jersey regional combine will take place.

The NFL debuted its regional scouting combine concept back in 2011. There will be 10 cities this year holding regional combines from January to March, and the best players will then go to a super regional in Dallas in April.

Even if Silberman doesn’t make it to Dallas or the NFL, she’s made history.

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