Reebok Top 25 Most Dynamic Athletes: Kenysha Coulson

The notion that the multi-sport athlete is a dying breed is sheer malarkey. Yes, with high-priced and coveted college scholarships at stake, specialization has taken huge strides over the last decade or two.

But it doesn’t take an in-depth sweep over the country to realize that versatility and a love and passion for more than one sport still reigns.

If you don’t believe it, click on MaxPreps over the next couple of months to discover 25 of the nation’s most dynamic and versatile multi-sport male and female athletes heading into the 2013-14 prep season.

The list of candidates was long, wide, varied and talented, but the MaxPreps staff picked these 25 based on their expertise in multiple sports.



It’s no wonder why we lead off the Reebok Top 25 Most Dynamic Athletes series with perhaps the most promising of the athletes, a three-sport female phenom who this fall will add yet a fourth game to her repertoire.

See all the Reebok Dynamic Athletes

Kenysha Coulson is a long, fast and competitive incoming sophomore at Lee (Huntsville, Ala.) who already excelled on the track, soccer field and basketball court. She was so good that she caught the attention of her school’s football coach, who asked her to add length and distance to the team’s floundering kicking game.

Without hesitation — like any of these dynamic 25 — Coulson accepted the challenge, wowed the coaches in her tryout and is scheduled to be the team’s starting kicker for the 2013 Generals.

See the entire Kenysha Coulson photo gallery
{PAGEBREAK}

Hometown: Huntsville, Ala.

School: Lee (Huntsville, Ala.) (enrollment approximately 1,400)

Class: 2016



Size: 5-foot-10

Sports: Football (kicker), basketball (wing), soccer (midfielder) and track and field (sprinter, relays)

College plans: Too far in the future, but she wants to play at least one sport, likely basketball or track.

Favorite athletes: Kobe Bryant and Allyson Felix. "I like Kobe because of the way he controls the court and leads. I like Allyson not only because she's really fast, but I just like her attitude. She seems focused and poised."

Coach speak: "There's not anything she can't do," said her football and track coach Kiante Welch. "She's a really funny kid. Silly. Everyone likes being around her. But when the ball goes up or the starting gun goes off, she's ready. Her upside is pretty remarkable."

Basketball coach J Silas: "She's a legitimate athlete. She can jump, sprint, defend. We can play her anywhere on the court. What sets her apart from her peers is just how competitive she is."
{PAGEBREAK}

She's never played a down of football in her life, but the Generals haven't had much of a kicking game the last few years, so Welch asked Coulson to try out last spring.



She passed with flying colors.

According to Welch, Coulson will kick off and run directly off the field for protection and has field goal range of about 35 yards.

"When he first asked me to try out, I didn't think he meant it," Coulson said. "I always kidded with him that I could kick better than his kickers. He took me up on it."

Said Welch: "We said, 'Let's see what you got,' and then she did. We (all the other coaches) looked at each other and knew we had ourselves a kicker."

It wasn't quite that simple, however. A girl playing primarily a boys' sport — a sometimes violent one — needed some special considerations.  

"I had to ask my mom and after we got some details figured out, everyone was on board," Coulson said. "I know a lot of guys on the team and they seem cool with it.



"I guess I'm a little nervous, but I'm always up for a challenge. I think everyone knows I'm pretty silly generally, but I know when it's time be serious and when to have fun."
{PAGEBREAK}

Around Madison County, the Generals were akin to the Washington Generals, the play toys of the Harlem Globetrotters. Lee hadn't a winning season in more than a decade until Silas and a half-dozen talented freshmen led by Coulson showed up last season and produced an 18-11 record.

Coulson started roughly 20 games and was always in late during close games because of her all-around skills. Though not a big scorer, she was the glue that held the Generals together, Silas said. He described her as a "slasher." Not only quick, fast and a great leaper, but she used her length to disrupt everything on defense.

"She could play point, wing or post," he said. "She's so quick and jumps so well, she'd often get a rebound at one end and get to the other end just like that. She could guard anyone. She just needs to work on her shot."
{PAGEBREAK}

Coulson, like many at her school, began playing soccer at a young age (5 or 6) through the local boys and girls club, featuring coach Calvin Fletcher.

A region not known for soccer, Fletcher used the athleticism of numerous local kids, led by Coulson, to form a state championship travel team called the Huntsville Hard Rollers.

Like in every sport she played, Coulson starred all over the field (striker, fullback and goalie), but her main position was center midfielder. She started on the varsity team for the Generals in the spring as a freshman but the team didn't have much success.

Coulson doubled between the soccer field and track throughout the spring, no easy double.



"It was kind of hard for sure," Coulson said. "I'd usually start at the track first and then get to the soccer field. I slept very well at night during the spring. When I was younger I played a lot more defense, but as I got older I started scoring more and more."

And now she'll be scoring points with her right kicking leg on the football field as well. She thinks one sport will just help the other.

"If nothing else, my leg should get stronger," she said.
{PAGEBREAK}

She began running track in the seventh grade and immediately fell in love with the individual sport. She could control her own marks through her own hard work.

Her best times as a freshman were:

In the 100 meters: 12.71 seconds

In the 200: 26.11



As an anchor in the 4x100 relay: 49.21