Hardin Master Kicker Of Footballs

The lead in a story last fall in the Johnson City Press read, “Give Christine Hardin a game, even one designed for the boys, and she will find a way to be good at it.”

One thing for sure, Hardin can kick a football ….regardless of its shape.

She holds the Elizabethton High School scoring records for soccer with 127 goals, 41 scored in her senior season.

She also holds the Tennessee State Secondary Athletic Association record for the longest field goal by a female. She did that in 2010 with a 34-yarder in a Cyclones football game.

[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’] An exceptional athlete, she was a standout on the school varsity tennis team, qualified twice for the TSSAA state cross country championships. She also played a couple of seasons of varsity basketball at Elizabethton.

This fall she will be playing collegiate soccer at Milligan College.

“Christine is a great fit for our program on all fronts,” offered Milligan head coach Lisa Buckley. “She is a well-rounded player, who can play anywhere on the field. She will unquestionably give us a new spark going forward, as she is such creative player.”

Hardin has already attracted national attention for her achievements in both soccer and football. Sports Illustrated included her in its Faces In The Crowd section in its September, 2012 issue, after she scored her 100th goal on the soccer field and 100th point on the football field on consecutive nights.

She started playing soccer at a very young age, around age four or five, and of all the sports she’s played, it is her favorite.

“I guess I liked it right away,” she told the Johnson City Press writer. “My mom kept me in it, and it grew on me.”

Being good at a lot of sports is just a matter of repetition said Hardin in that Johnson City newspaper story.

“I guess growing up, where I always played something, I was just used to practicing or having to go somewhere for a game or something,” she said.

Hardin is a good student, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. Her academic commitment will be a priority in college, and she is looking forward to playing collegiate soccer for Milligan.

Kicking footballs in college at Milligan won’t be an option for Hardin. The Buffaloes don’t have an intercollegiate football program. But it is a thought that crossed her mind before selecting a college to attend.

“I’ve thought about kicking,” she said about what might lie ahead in college. “I know it would definitely be harder.”

Hardin is part of an outstanding Milligan recruiting class that also includes midfielders Tiffany Norris (Sullivan Central HS), Knoxville’s Rebecca Buchanan (Bearden HS), Keri Beth Harrison (Sullivan South HS), and Sidney Bailey (Science Hill HS).

Milligan College, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), was 10-7-1 last fall and 6-2-1 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference.