Beginning at a young age, Yazmin Strauss had a passion for sports. Most specifically, football.

“My stepdad was a football coach and my brother plays in the NFL,” said SMU’s Applied Physiology and Sports Management Program Specialist Yazmin Strauss.

Her role at SMU in the Applied Physiology and Sports Management program allows her to take that love and apply it to her job. As a program specialist, she helps students interested in pursuing a career in sports throughout their time in college.

Strauss said, “I like the relationships that you build here at SMU. I really like the student body too, they’re really fun.”

In addition to her job at SMU, Strauss has brought her love for sports and interacting with people into another area of her life, by trying out for a unique team in the DFW area.

“One day, I was scrolling on the web and I saw that there was a women’s team in Dallas, and I was like ‘women’s football what is that?’”

Strauss recently joined Texas Elite, a full-contact women’s football team that competes in a league against other teams from around the country. “I thought it would be something good I could do to test my strength and my endurance,” Strauss said.

Peter Carton, SMU’s Sports Management Program Director said, “she’d always had a passion to do this. She was a track athlete in high school. She went out and supposedly has done remarkably well.”

To prepare for this, Strauss has been training in a variety of different ways. She drinks a gallon of water a day, works out five days a week, and does drills on the weekends.

Her trainer, Mark Guice, said, “she’s driven, she’s very independent, she’s an inspiration.”

Just a few months ago, Strauss had never picked up a football. Now, she’s getting ready to play running back like her brother does in the NFL. Games for Strauss and the Spartans begin in January. If you are interested in trying out, visit their website: www.texaselitewomensfootball.com