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Homeroom

Flag football empowers teen girls

By ELISABETH DYER
Published March 2, 2007

When I was 9, I lived for Wednesday night episodes of the Bionic Woman. For Christmas that year, I whispered my wish to my dad: I wanted to be bionic.

In my dreams, I could throw a ball a mile and run as fast as a car just like the character Jamie Sommers. I was superhuman.

As I stand on a football field at Jefferson High School decades later, my mind travels back to those dreams. Danielle Flowers, 17, is telling me about the time she made an interception and a touchdown that won the game.

"I felt like I was floating," she says. "I was unbeatable. I knew they weren't going to catch me."

As she talks, I wonder where girls football was when I was in high school.

Flowers found her groove in football last year when the district established girls flag football teams at all 25 high schools.

After their first game, teamwork came together for the girls, said Jefferson coach Jeremy Earle. They got that edge. They became dedicated. Varsity ended the season 5-3. Junior varsity was 3-2.

"We're going to be the team to beat again," Earle told them on the practice field earlier this week. Their first game, against Gaither High School, is two weeks away.

The girls strap on flags and catch and throw passes, chase and dodge each other. As always in football, speed is key.

But the inclusion for girls has been slow.

As a ninth-grader two years ago, Michelle Thompson wanted to try out for the boys team but was told "girls belong on the sidelines cheering."

She's tougher than that. Maybe too tough for flag football.

"A lot of us want to tackle," said Thompson, who is considering a career as a sports broadcaster or with the Women's Professional Football League.

Amid much focus on childhood obesity lately, I point out the caliber of these student athletes.

There's 18-year-old Shalynn Smith, whose bare arms are muscular.

"You look strong," I tell her.

She pops her mouth guard out to say "thanks" and tells me that's not what she hears in school hallways.

"These boys out here think we can't do it," she says gesturing to a group of guys on the opposite side of the field. "They say we're weak. I'm just glad they've given us a chance to prove ourselves."

Stretching her legs on the sideline is 16-year-old Mija Gilmore, last year's quarterback.

She has taken her share of collisions and bruises on the field. What brought her back?

"Scoring one for your team," she said. "That's the best. It's powerful."

Thousands of Hillsborough students compete in sports each year. They discover what they're made of and develop team skills that will last a lifetime. Research shows athletes make better grades and tend to avoid drugs and alcohol.

Statewide, lines between traditional boys and girls sports are blurring as new ones are approved. In several counties, there's boys volleyball, girls weight-lifting, and bowling and water polo for both boys and girls.

Last year, more than 4,000 girls statewide played flag football. It is one of several sports targeted to increase girls' participation to meet federal gender equity requirements, said Lanness Robinson, Hillsborough County athletic director.

Finally.

As we dissolve limitations, girls are empowered to claim their superhuman muscle. Just like the bionic woman.

[Last modified March 1, 2007, 07:41:14]