Cue the smoke machine, fireworks, loud pumping music, strobe lights.……….
It is December 2013 and the announcer walks to the centre of the field and turns on his microphone to get the crowd whipped up to a frenzy.
‘Laaaaaadies and Geeeeeentlemen welcome to the first ever Australian Lingerie Football League game. Please raise the roof as we introduce each Sydney team member into the All Phones Arena. Lets hear a huge home town cheer for your starting Quarterback Renee Straumietis’.
Ok we are back in June 2012 and you are probably wondering who this fiesty, determined, athletic girl is that will no doubt be taking Sydney by storm in 18 months time. Could she be the first Sydney LFL Quarterback? I am betting she is odds-on to be just that!
Renee Straumietis is one of Australia’s unsung sporting superstars who would no doubt be a household name if she was representing her country in one of the ‘more popular’ sports that get the press and TV time. If you were an Australian baseball fan then her name would jump off the page and smack you right between the eyes.
She began competing in Baseball when she was eleven years old, playing for her local team the Greenway Giants. At the age of seventeen in 2001 she made her first Australian representative team. She was the only NSW player in that squad! Eighteen of them were from Victoria. Two National Championships for NSW were to follow as well as competing in three IBAF World Cups. They were in Canada, Taiwan and Japan.
She was also the first Australian semi pro female baseballer in 2005 when she played in Japan for a Tokyo College team. While in Japan she was living with a fellow Australian baseball star, Amy McCann. Amy said of Renee, ‘As a pitcher, she was one of the hardest throwers in the world, blowing many competitors away with her speed. But it was also her presence given her fitness and her athleticism, that put fear into the opposition before she even took the field!’
When she was at the peak of her powers she was the fastest pitcher in Australia. Her fast ball was clocked at 76mph. No wonder she put the fear of God into the opposition. In fact in 2006 at the Nationals she threw a complete game shutout against Victoria. It is also worth noting that Victoria won the titles on either side of the NSW victory so they were no easy beats.
Of her time in Baseball Renee said ‘Baseball has been amazing and has allowed me to travel to numerous countries. I’d still probably be playing now, but cost and time off work has been a big influence into why I’m not playing representative baseball anymore’.
Her old team mate Amy believes that Renee would still be a huge asset to the National team saying ‘I would dearly love to see her back on the Australian women’s baseball team as she was a great player’.
So what does a girl with a killer arm do when she is looking for the next challenge in her sporting career? Most would consider taming it down and trying out netball or volleyball. Not this focused and determined girl, she thought she would give Gridiron a crack.
Renee joined the Ladies Gridiron League which is a recently established Women’s Gridiron League. It all started off with a squad of girls who all came together through word of mouth and have just recently split into teams which are based at Concord, Sutherland, Newcastle and Bondi. It was during pre season training that Renee and a few team mates heard of the Lingerie Football League having try outs for a Sydney based team.
On Thursday night she rocked up to All Phones Arena in Homebush to have a bit of fun and see what it was all about. After everyone registered at the door they headed out onto the field and went through a series of warm up drills and exercises with American LFL All Star Liz Gorman. The place was buzzing with nervous energy as Eighty-six girls were put through their paces. The LFL Chairman and Commissioner Mitchell Mortaza was on hand to help spot the talent.
The first drill was to pass the ball and judge the girls on their Quarterback skills. Renee threw her first ball very well however the second ball was a little wobbly so the trainers continued to throw the ball to the next girl. Renee later said ‘the ball was totally different to the ones we have been using at practise, it was so much smaller and way lighter’.
Luckily for Renee they came around on a second loop of the group and she nailed every single pass. She was the first girl to get the tap on the shoulder to be pulled aside for some extra throwing practise at varies distances. At the time she thought to herself ‘It’s all happening’. As the girls continued to go through the different positional training routines it started to become evident who was looking good and who was struggling.
After three hours the trials came to the end and Mitchell Mortaza got the girls to take a knee while a few LFL stars told the trialists about life as an LFL player. Liz Gorman was particularly interesting as she told the girls ‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish’ and in regards to recent negative comments towards the uniforms ‘the uniform is what it is’.
It would be a brave person to criticise the LFL based on just the uniform the girls wear. Yes, sex sells and it certainly gets the people through the doors however once you see these supreme athletes in action it isn’t a place for the faint hearted as no one gives an inch on the field. Just ask a few of the Sydney trialists to got sat on their butts by a few hard hits by the trainers holding the large tackle pads.
When asked what she thought of Renee trying out for the LFL, Amy said ‘With her size, strength and amazing throwing ability, Renee is perfectly suited to the Lingerie Football League, and I think she will star as Quarterback’.
As the numbers of the successful girls were read out I was pretty sure Renee was going to make it. She had shown a lot of skill on the night and was sure to be picked. Fifteen numbers in and Mitchell called out ‘61′.
Renee was now a member of the Sydney LFL squad! And was about to start the next chapter in her sporting career.
Later on I was talking with Mitchell Mortaza and mentioned I was there writing a small piece about an Aussie Baseball player who was trialing on the night. Mitchell was impressed with the standard of the group saying ‘There was a lot of talent here tonight’.
When I mentioned that the girl was No.61 and that she used to be a pitcher who represented Australia in three World Cups his response was, ‘Your kidding me, wow that’s probably why she’s killing the ball. She was a great quarterback, great quarterback type of prospect’. He then went on to say, ‘All we are looking for at this point are athletes, we can always teach them the game of gridiron down the road’.
Joining Renee in the squad was one of her good friends Shari Onley. Most people will recognise Shari from the TV show Gladiators where she played ‘Amazon’. She is one super fit, fast and strong girl who will no doubt play on the defence and strike the fear of God into every opponent who comes up against her. I am positive that she will become a real crowd favourite as she has great presence and charisma which the fans will eat up.
The girls will now be presented to the crowd during the half time break in the All Stars game. From there it will no doubt be practise, practise and more practise as they get ready for the debut of the Australian LFL to get under way in 2013.
One things for sure, the girl currently known as ‘No.61′ will make her presence felt and with her determination and will to win the competitive juices will flow and Renee Straumietis could very well soon be the name on everyone’s lips.
December 2013……….. The crowd now stand as one and cheer for their Sydney LFL starting Quarterback as she runs through the smoke and onto the field!!!