Kristie Kelly


	Jersey Number: 47
	Position: WR
	Age (on April 1, 2025): 29
	Height: 5-2
	Weight: 120
	Hometown:Columbia, MD
	High School:Dartmouth and St. Lawrence University
	Previous Football Experience:DC Divas 2022 Season to present
	Before that, none. However, I did play professional Ultimate Frisbee in 2019 (NY Gridlock) What charities and/or causes do you support and would like to see the team do the same in some manner?
Athlete Ally: www.athleteally.org The Trevor Project: www.thetrevorproject.org Girls Who Code: girlswhocode.com Girls on the Run: www.girlsontherun.org The Endometriosis Foundation of America (EndoFound): www.endofound.org

Kristie Kelly (she |her) started her athletic journey at age four on a soccer team coached by her dad. In middle school and high school, she played just about every sport: soccer, basketball, lacrosse, softball, karate, tennis…etc. Her passion for sports continued throughout college where she joined the women’s varsity soccer team at St. Lawrence University. In her junior year, she began a dual-degree engineering program at Dartmouth College where she then discovered a love for a new sport, Ultimate Frisbee.

With Kristie on the team, Dartmouth Daybreak (formerly known as Princess Layout) finished 5th at the USA Ultimate D-I College National Championships in 2016. In the subsequent two years, Daybreak went on an unprecedented back-to-back college championship run, bringing Dartmouth Ultimate their first and second championship titles in the history of the program.

In 2019, Kristie was selected to play for the New York Gridlock (NYGL) in the first ever professional ultimate frisbee league for women, non-binary, and genderqueer athletes. Kristie has traveled nationally and internationally to compete against teams from Atlanta, Raleigh, Austin, Nashville, Columbus, Indianapolis, and even Colombia (the country!).

Kristie presently works as an electrical engineer and FPGA engineer at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Applied Physics Laboratory. Here, Kristie works in the Space Exploration Sector, Spacecraft Power Engineering Group, designing and testing flight hardware and firmware for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission as well as NASA’s Dragonfly mission. Kristie is also pursuing a master’s degree at JHU in Computer and Electrical Engineering.

Kristie Kelly Q & A

Who was your childhood idol? Why?
My older sister. I wanted to do everything she wanted to do.
My older sister. I wanted to do everything she wanted to do.
My parents are my biggest supporters. My dad, my mom and her Ipad have traveled all over the United States to see me play sports.
Who is your female sports idol?
The entire USWNT! There’s too many amazing female athletes to pick just one.
What are your favorite hobbies or special interests?
I love jazz trumpet. I learned how to play trumpet in 3rd grade, and have played in various jazz, funk and blues bands ever since. In college, I played in a 14 piece band called SLU Funk and had some of the best nights performing on stage.
What is your favorite TV show?
LEGO Masters. I love building with LEGO bricks and the show inspired me to engineer my own creations. Follow me along my LEGO journey by checking out my LEGO Instagram, @build.bricks17!
What is your favorite travel location?
Stratton, Vermont. I love skiing and snowboarding!
What is your favorite food?
Ice Cream. I can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
What is your favorite quote?
“It’s amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the credit.” “Your dream doesn’t have an expiration date. Take a deep breath and try again.”
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Determined not stubborn
What are some of your lifetime aspirations or goals you wish to share?
After my experience playing professional ultimate with NY Gridlock, it’s been a goal of mine to be a dual sport professional athlete. Goal achieved!
What was the first sport you ever played?
Soccer, at age 4. My dad was my coach, and he continued to coach me until I was 18 years old.
What is your favorite sports memory?
Winning the USA Ultimate D-I College National Championship with my college ultimate frisbee team, Dartmouth Daybreak (formerly known as Princess Layout), in 2018!
How did you hear about women’s tackle football?
I searched on Google “Open Tryouts for Women’s Professional Sports” and found the DC Divas. I then thought, “Oh this sounds fun, let me give that a try!”
Why do you want to play women’s football?
I want to inspire and encourage young girls to dream about becoming athletes the same way young boys do by showing them that women’s professional sports teams exist. I believe “if you can see it, you can be it!” I want to play in this league so that equal representation is displayed at the highest, most visible levels of the sport. Visibility matters and is important to me.
What does it mean to you to be a D.C. Diva?
Being a DC Diva means I get to be a part of a group of strong, confident, and driven athletes who together represent a community that empowers and inspires the next generation. We get to challenge society’s perception of what it means to be a woman in a professional sports organization by playing tackle football in full pads and with full contact.

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