.. Established in 2014, the LaLisa Anthony Gridiron Pioneer Trophy is awarded annually to recognize a female who is an exceptional, innovative individual who has created a positive impact in football. .. DUNN INAUGURAL RECIPIENT by Sara Vallone, Vice President - American Football Networks January 12, 2015 Kate Dunn was teetering on the line between life and death when she discovered that her true calling was to become a NFL caliber football coach. It's a goal far from what many 13 year old girls dream of pursing, but Dunn is ready to join the likes of former Georgia Tech coach Carol White to prove the football isn't just a man’s sport. Vallone Life in the beginning was pretty normal for Dunn. She had two loving and supportive parents, a group of friends and possessed the common dreams of many little girls; to become a prima ballerina or a doctor. However that seemingly normal life would be flipped upside down in 2011 when Dunn, now 16, began fainting 30 to 40 times a day. Not only did doctors at the time have difficulties diagnosing what was causing Dunn’s episodes but her friends and classmates believed she was faking her fainting episodes and resorted to teasing and bullying. Eventually the stress of it all put Dunn into a deep depression, a depression so deep that she made multiple attempts to take her own life. In an effort to reconnect with and save her daughter’s life, her mother, Amanda Dunn, sat Kate down for the 2012 Redskins’ season opener against the New Orleans Saints. While watching Robert Griffin III play his first professional regular season game something clicked inside Dunn and those earlier dreams of becoming a ballerina or a doctor were replaced by the dream of becoming the first female football coach in the National Football League. Football became an outlet for Dunn; instead of feeling lost and alone all of the time, football became her only passion. Her love for the game ran so deep, studying game film and different strategies just wasn’t enough, so Dunn became a member of her high school football team and her position of choice, Quarterback. “I came so close to death, that I came to the realization that I’m meant to be here,” Dunn recounted. “I have no idea how I got myself through all of that; it was kind of a miracle that I did. Since then every time I began to struggle again I remind myself that football is God’s plan for me.” After successful brain surgery to stop her fainting spells and a new found purpose in life, Dunn began to feel a sense of normalcy in her life again. “After I watched my first football game and looked more into the history of Robert Griffin III, I decided I was going to play quarterback,” Dunn said. “So I started training for that.” Unfortunately things started to look bleak again for Dunn when she was told by her high school football team and her neurologist that she wasn’t allowed to play football anymore. Without football giving meaning to her life, Dunn was again hospitalized for depression. “My mom sat me down and asked me ‘What would Robert do? Would he just give up on his dreams of football or would he find some other way to do it?’ So I decided coaching was the next best thing.” With Griffin as her inspiration and a new goal to work toward, the aspiring NFL coach started learning as much about the game and making as many connections as possible. Dunn’s connections range from being a media relations intern, a coaching intern and an assistant for the General Manager of the DC Divas to being a coaching intern for Georgetown University’s football team.  Dunn is also the third youngest female to be a USA Football and NCACE certified tackle football coach. “I’m trying to show people that I’m the real deal by making as many connections as I can,” Dunn said. “I have about 20 books on coaching football regarding everything from special teams to quarterbacks. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m doing my best to be the best coach that I can be.” On January 19th Dunn will have a chance to put her coaching skills to use at the collegiate level as an honorary coach for the USA College Football Bowl in Jackson, Mississippi. With coaching legend Vince Lombardi and Baylor Head Coach Art Briles as her coaching inspiration, Dunn hopes to use this opportunity as a learning experience and a chance to pick the minds of the players, coaches and NFL scouts who will be in attendance. But with all dreams and with all success comes the haters and Dunn is no strangers to the negative feedback. When she is faced with those who say she can’t, Dunn remembers a quote by her idol RGIII that reads, “When they say you’ll never be the same, prove them right you’ll be better.” “My advice to those chasing a dream would be to just give it your all and don’t listen to anybody who says you can’t do it,” Dunn said. “Don’t waste your time on people who won’t help you achieve your dream and always realize that the struggles you go through, the pain, and the failures you’re faced with are what leads to success.” . EDITOR'S NOTE: At the 20th Annual USA College Football Awards Banquet in Jackson, MS on January 18, 2015, LaLisa Anthony presented the Inaugural Pigskin Pioneer Award to Kate Dunn.