ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Going through drills in practice is nothing new for Zana Krakic. After all, the rising senior is a member of the three-time American Athletic Conference champion UCF rowing team. But on Friday night, she stayed on land to try her hand at the Rise and Conquer Ladies Knight with UCF Football.
"I'm a fan of football, so I knew the rules," Krakic said. "I've never actually done any of their exercises. I've never actually seen the technical side of football."
Krakic was one of the nearly 70 women in attendance at the second annual event. After a quick introduction to the staff inside the recruiting lounge, they headed over to Nicholson Fieldhouse, moving from drill-to-drill for eight stations.
The native of Sveta Nedelja, Croatia quickly discovered that running routes at the wide receivers station was her favorite drill. Her most challenging drill of the evening came at the quarterbacks station with quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco.
"We were facing the right side of the fieldhouse, but we were throwing the ball to the left side of the fieldhouse," Krakic said. "I kept thinking, 'I don't see who I'm throwing to; how am I going to throw it?' But of course it worked out well."
For someone who had never participated in a football drill before, she excelled at the punt/kick return station. Lined up in the end zone, Krakic caught every ball kicked to her.
During the rowing season, she and her teammates are out on Lake Pickett by 6 a.m. nearly every morning for practice. They'll row up and down the lake for a few hours, building up to the final sprint. Friday evening required her to practice in short bursts of speed, which was an adjustment for Krakic.
"Our races are 2000-meters long, so you know that you can't go all out at the beginning or you won't end the race," Krakic explained. "It's strategic and technical. (With football), you go, go, go. Every single rep needs to be 100 percent because that's how it is in a game."
At the end of the night, she walked away with a better understanding of each position in football.
"I honestly learned a lot," Krakic said. "I really thought that football was about hitting your guy, or running or throwing the ball, but it's so much more in depth. It's mind-blowing how every position is different."
While she won't be trading in her oar for a helmet and pads anytime soon, Krakic was impressed with the event.
"Ladies Knight was an amazing experience and I had so much fun," Krakic said. "I would love to see how football players would do in a rowing boat. I think it would be really fun for them."
