THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT, October 16, 2013

Chelsea Thaut didn't ask to play with the boys when St. Maries High cut its girls soccer program two years ago.

She earned it.

Now, with St. Maries entering the district tournament against Priest River on Friday afternoon in Rathdrum, Thaut hasn't just occupied a spot on the field, she's owned it.

THAUT PLAYED her freshman and sophomore seasons on the girls soccer program before low numbers forced the program to be cut midway through her sophomore season.

"By then, I couldn't try out for the boys team because it was too late in the season," said Thaut, a senior right side defender. "It was my full intention if the program hadn't been cut to play on the girls team."

The girls program didn't make it the last two years.

"Coach (Chris) Renaldo let me try out for the men's team," Thaut said. "It was a great opportunity and a great chance to prove myself."

At first, Thaut wasn't going to play soccer as a junior.

"I had some friends of mine and some of the boys on the team that told me that I had to do it," Thaut said. "They told me that you're really good and you'll make the team. It was the positive pressure from them that encouraged me to do it and they are always pushing and encouraging me to get better."

Renaldo has been proud of Thaut from the moment she joined the program.

"She stepped right up and played as a boy," Renaldo said. "She's a big part of the program and has always been a big part of the program. She stepped right up and didn't ask for any special treatment."

"I was a little nervous at first because some people can look a little intimidating," said Thaut of Renaldo. "He made it clear to me the day he announced who made the team on the day of tryouts. He said, 'Chels, you did it, but I want to let you know that this is a men's soccer league, not coed, and it gave me some warm fuzzies inside because I knew I had made it and he's given me every opportunity that I could have asked for and really a chance to prove my abilities for the team."

"It's funny to watch some of our games," Renaldo said. "Our opponents will see her on that side and attack that side - for about 10 minutes- and go back to the other side."

PLAYING AT the college level next year is something she'd welcome, in the right situation.

"I've sent out some recruitment information to a few schools and have gotten some common application stuff and waivers for some fees, but that's about it," Thaut said. "I'm really leaning toward something in the medical field, so I'm really not leaning toward athletics right now anyway. I'd really love to play college sports, but I'm not going to go out of my way to do it."

Right now, her plan is to attend Lewis-Clark State College and study pre-sports medicine.

"I'd really like to do athletic training for a college sports team," Thaut said. "I'm taking a physical therapy aide class that will help me this semester through the Benewah Community Hospital. Next semester through Boise State, I'm taking a class in taping and wrapping and a little bit of kinesiology (study of human kinetics)."

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.