Izzy Lamanna
“There’s always something more to life,” said Lamanna. “You just have to want to find it.”
Izzy Lamanna kicked her first soccer ball at 1 year old, little did she know that that kick would impact the rest of her life.
Lamanna grew up in Parker, Colorado, with her mother, father, younger sister and two Bernese Mountain dogs, where they still reside today. Ever since she could remember, soccer, and sports in general, have been in every corner of her life. Lamanna found that as the days and years passed by, soccer kept giving her a greater sense of commitment and passion.
“I just loved the art of the game and the speed of it all,” Lamanna said. “It satisfied my competitive nature.”
In summer of 2016, Lamanna began getting looked at by the Colorado State University’s women’s soccer coach, Bill Hempen. It was her goal to play in college and now her goal was becoming more of a reality.
“Being looked at made me feel like all hard-work was finally paying off and it was a really exciting feeling,” explained Lamanna.
But, the chase for that goal came to a quick halt.
Lamanna was playing midfield in on of her club soccer games. She was running side-by-side with a girl downfield and stuck her foot out to kick the ball away from her opponent. Her leg got entangled in the other girls’ and she fell to the ground as her left leg twisted the opposite direction. She laid on the ground in pain for a minute, but got up and walked it off. As she sat out for the rest of the game, she felt so uncomfortable from the injury, but didn’t think it was anything too serious as she was still able to walk okay. A couple of days had passed and the pain didn’t go away, so she decided to go see a doctor. The doctor then delivered her the information no athlete ever wants to hear: “You tore your ACL”.
“It was one of those things that I had always seen happen to other people I played soccer with, but just never thought it would happen to me. I couldn’t believe that I actually tore it,” stated Lamanna.
But after 6 long months of rehab, Lamanna was finally back playing the game she loved. But, not for long.
In her very first game back after her recovery Lamanna tore her right ACL by just simply stepping on a bad patch of grass on the field. This time she knew it was torn, as she knew what the pain felt like from her first ACL tear just 6 months prior.
Once again she was taken out of the sport that meant everything to her due to injury.
“The first time I was sad, but still motivated,” said Lamanna. “I was upset because junior year was the peak of recruiting and this injury was going to set me back a little bit. But that motivated me even more to get back to soccer to get back in the recruiting process. Going through this injury made me realize how much soccer meant to me and I wasn’t ready to give it up. The second time I was frustrated, but wanted to get back fast again to play a little bit of my senior year and play with my friends. It was reality that my soccer career after high school was over.”
With her resilient mindset, Lamanna don’t let this defeat her completely. “It made me more appreciative in life and gave me a rub-some-dirt-on-it kind of attitude,” said Lamanna.
However it was a harsh truth that Lamanna had to face. Her plans for her future and college were so quickly turned upside down. Soccer was a constant in her life, as she had always been known as the soccer girl and now it was simply gone.
“It was upsetting, but I knew it happened for a reason,” she said. “ I was ready to find something else that defined my besides soccer and move forward to something potentially better.”
Lamanna decided in Match 2017 to attend Colorado State University, majoring in business marketing and minoring in sports management. Eager to begin this new chapter in her life, she packed her bags and moved up to Fort Collins in August. And sure enough just four months later that new chapter and definition begun.
Lamanna had connections with some football players who had been getting recruited by CSU and eventually met Kelsea Winkle, the recruiting supervisor for Colorado State football. The two got deep into conversation with ease and instantly made a connection. After an exchange of numbers and lasting impressions on both ends, Lamanna had an interview set up for a position as a recruiting intern shortly after.
With her determination, eagerness to learn and experience as an athlete, Lamanna landed the job in January 2018.
“I obviously wanted to play sports in college, but since that part of my life was over I wanted to find a way to still be involved,” Lamanna said. “I knew this was going to be a great experience and look at sports in a different perspective which I thought would be really interesting.
My dad actually played football for CSU back in the day so I instantly felt a connection to this job. It has been so cool to be part of the same program and meet people who know the coaches my dad played with, like I literally found my dad’s jersey with his name and number on it in the archives. It has definitely give my dad and I a closer bond.”
Lamanna finally found her new path in life and has embraced every part of it. She started out as beginning level intern for the recruiting department, doing simple work such as setting up events, but she has put so much time and effort into this job that she worked her way up to the lead recruiting intern for CSU football.
Lamanna has an impact on CSU’s recruiting process, holding a lot of responsibility. She helps manage and put forth the game day schedule for recruits, official visits, unofficial visits, junior and pro day, handles recruit registration money, gives recruits tours, entertains and sits with families at games and in the players’ lounge, manages the recruiting Twitter feed and writes letters to recruits. She also works under coach Brian Applewhite and Chase Gibson, serving as a direct contact and assistant to them with their recruiting needs.
One of the most important parts of her job is making a connection with the players and families, making them comfortable and creating relationships with them on deeper levels other than just football. It is her job to make these players feel at home.
“My favorite part of this whole thing is the time I spend with the recruits and their families,” explained Lamanna. “I get to share my story and love with CSU to them and get them to love it too. I love seeing my hard work pay off and watch these players commit. It feels good to see them do great things for our team; I feel accomplished that I’m part of their story and the team’s, hopefully changing some of their lives.”
Dante Wright, Bradnon Crossley, Xavier Goldsmith, Jaylen Hearst and Keevan Bailey are all players that Lamanna helped recruit.
Having interns allows CSU to give opportunities and responsibilities to students to help enhance their skills and help find a career path. It shows the dedication and priority they give to students and give them the tools needed to excel. Not only is this benefiting the students, but it is also bringing benefits to the school. Lamanna has found this internship to provide these opportunities for her.
“Being a college student and being similar in age to these recruits I think is actually good,” said La I am able to talk to them casually about certain topics and can relate to them more than a college coach could, the comfortability it there strictly because of our given similarities. It takes some pressure off of the recruits, sometimes they’re shy and I help them open up.”
Lamanna is a very good communicator, able to hold meaningful conversations with people, has a great attitude, and is very dedicated to her work. Her job is her new-found passion.
“Izzy has always been a role model for me because she always give 100% of her care and effort into everything she does. She’s taken me under her wing her whole life and I know she’ll always be there for me and everyone else around her,“ stated her sister, Grace Lamanna.
Having people such as Lamanna work with the football team is exactly what CSU needs. From going from a young girl who loved sports, to an aspiring collegiate athlete to rerouting her passion in life, Lamanna is now working everyday towards her goal of working within the NFL.
“I realized it’s not good to look at things as having endings. It’s better to look at things as having another opportunity to move on to something better,” said Lamanna.
