Football seems to strike a chord with Cori Sensenig.
The Girard Academic Music Program high school junior has followed in her family’s footsteps when it comes to excelling on the soccer field and hitting all the right notes in the music room.
Sensenig can play as hard as he comes on the football field in the middle of the field, while showing the range for strumming the violin beautifully, even if it is not his favorite instrument.
“My mom plays, so I just bought it, and then when I came to GAMP I continued with it,” said Sensenig, who has been playing the violin for seven years. “I’m not crazy about the violin but my mom likes it.”
Sensenig also plays the piano and has learned to play the ukulele herself. This ability to learn new things on the fly ties in well with her abilities on the football field, where she held three years for South Philadelphia High School. GAMP does not run a women’s football program, so Sensenig plays for the Rams with other South Philly schools like Creative and Performing Arts and Mastery Charter. His football skills come from other areas of the family tree as his father, brother and cousins all played football.
“They all played and loved it,” Sensenig said. “It works in our family. I actually played but took a break for a while. I fell in love with this team again.
Sensenig enjoys the dynamic of teaming up with other schools under the Southern banner. She already knew another GAMP student, Hannah Speizman, but name tags are often needed when camp begins each summer.
“I love meeting new girls,” Sensenig said. “It’s a lot of fun. We meet a lot of new people and it’s cool to be able to play with different people.
So far the first chemistry has worked. Southern won their first three games and didn’t allow a goal in the process. A lot can be attributed to Sensenig who took control in the middle of the field.
“She’s a very smart girl and she knows the game very well,” said Southern coach Joseph DiStefano. “She makes great angles with the ball and is very vocal with her teammates on and off the pitch. And she’s got the size too. Her father used to play college football, so I hope she can play for a good school as well.
Sensenig isn’t sure what she wants to study after high school, but there’s a good chance she’ll pick it up quickly like she did with football and even the ukulele.
“I have no idea,” Sensenig said. “I don’t want to limit myself, so we’ll see what the future holds.”
Until then, Sensenig can be counted on to lead the Rams this year, and even more so in 2022.
“We had a strong core coming back with mostly seniors this year,” said DiStefano. “She’s just a junior, so knowing that she’s coming back, she’ll be the # 1 player for us.”
