Rockford Sun

Meet Rockford University Female Football Player Clare Strong

Rockford University Freshman Clare Strong, who is one of 11 siblings, grew up playing tackle football with her large family in Fairbury, Illinois, located a little over 100 miles southeast of Rockford. Strong’s three brothers played high school football which allowed her to learn the game from them.

Ever since she was young, Strong said she has wanted to play high school football just like her brothers. She said she didn’t realize back then that her love for football would continue into her college career at Rockford University — or that she would become the only current woman on the RU Regents football team. Strong joined the team in September of 2022 and will start her second season this fall.

She is currently studying kinesiology for exercise science. Strong is also on the basketball team here at RU. She hopes to be a strength and conditioning coach when she finishes her undergraduate studies. 

“I had a goal and I was going to do anything I could to achieve it,” Strong said. “But, my mom was worried about me getting hurt. I started lifting at the age of 12 with my brother-in-law, who is my personal trainer and the athletic trainer at the high school I went to.”

Once Strong’s freshman year of high school came around, she said she was “already bigger and lifting more than half of the kids” in her class.

Strong was one of two girls who played on the Prairie Central football team back home. Her mom originally agreed to let her play one year of football, she said, but Strong was able to convince her mom she could play all four years by showing that she could keep up with her male teammates. 

“My parents are definitely my biggest supporters,” she said. “They never missed one game.”

Strong started off only playing the position of kicker on her high school team, but quickly realized she wanted in on the action.

“I’m the type that always wants to be moving,” she said. “If you’re a kicker and you’re practicing, you don’t really do much other than kick. I decided to try out to be a running back and outside linebacker.”

Strong played all three positions during her high school career. She even made “All-Conference” by her senior year at Prairie Center.  

Original source can be found here