DULUTH, Minn. -- She resisted the call at first, even as God's persistent whisper became a roar. Lisa Maurer loved her original vocation -- being a high school teacher and coach in Sleepy Eye, Minn. -- and while her spirit was pulling her toward a convent, she found it hard to give up her work with young athletes.
Not long after arriving at St. Scholastica Monastery in 2007, Maurer heard another call she could not ignore. "The football field is literally in my backyard," she said. "I'd be in my room with something to read, or a rosary to pray, and there were whistles blowing outside my back door. So I went out there for a walk, and pretty soon, I was sitting in the bleachers."
This fall, she went one step further. After six years of leading cheers and prayers for the football team at the College of St. Scholastica, Sister Lisa was named a volunteer assistant coach, overseeing the kickers and punters for the top team in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
A spokesman for the American Football Coaches Association said there have been a few women coaches in college football, but Sister Lisa is believed to be the first nun to roam the sidelines. St. Scholastica Coach Kurt Ramler, who took over the Saints' program last spring, had no qualms about asking her to join his staff.
"It was an absolute no-brainer," he said. "She is a wonderful coach who makes all of us better. She just happens to be a member of the order."
Prayer and service still come first in Maurer's life. When the chapel bells toll at 5 p.m. each day, summoning the sisters to evening prayer, she scurries off the practice field in her jeans, sneakers and Saints jacket to join her fellow Benedictines in their devotions.
But the swath of artificial turf between the monastery and the sisters' cemetery feels like a sacred space, too. Just as God led her to the convent, Sister Lisa believes, he led her back to coaching, too, a blessing that has filled the last void in a joyful heart.
"I find the holy in sports, too," said Maurer, 44. "It's my way of connecting with God. He made me this way.
"I was afraid I'd never get that game-time feeling again, the jitters and the intensity. But I get that same kind of buzz when I pray, so I equate the two. Now, I get it in both realms. And it's like, 'Dang. I'm a sister and a coach?' "
Maurer had no experience instructing kickers, so she learned by talking to other coaches and doing Internet research. She is not involved in deciding game strategy, but she analyzes film, shags balls during warmups and practices and reminds players about proper technique. Though she is on the sidelines for most games and practices, her duties also are limited because of frequent travel in her job with the Benedictine Health System.
In addition, Maurer provides a weekly team prayer and a large daily dose of positive energy. Her primary pupil, senior kicker Mike Theismann of St. Cloud, said players thrive on Maurer's support and enthusiasm.
"She's not your typical sister, especially with how fired up she gets on the sidelines," said Theismann, a preseason all-America selection by USA College Football. "She knows sports, and she knows more football than people give her credit for. She's just a very positive person who loves being back in this world."
Theismann said his parents had a few questions when they learned he would be coached by a nun -- but like everyone else, they quickly warmed up to Sister Lisa. Other parents quietly ask her to make sure their sons go to mass. Her fellow sisters are supportive, too, attending games and quizzing her about the team.
Though St. Benedict knew nothing of the spread option, Maurer she she believes her philosophy of balance in all things allows for football to coexist peacefully with prayer. Her duties on the field simply afford a different way to do God's work, a second vocation in a blessed life.
"To pray is my first job," she said. "But I'll be coaching as long as they'll have me. It's a beautiful fit."
Sports on 10/25/2014