 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
Back
|
In a league with the boys
By NATALIE BAUGHMAN © St. Petersburg Times, published October 23, 2000 Four boys tackled the player wearing jersey No. 89 at youth football practice Thursday night. They piled on top, making sure the player didn't get away with the ball. But No. 89, Stephanie Rodriguez, got up quickly, brushing the dirt off her face. "They never seem to hurt me," Stephanie said about the 9- and 10-year-old boys she plays with. "I'm just as tough as they are. If they knock me down, I'll get right up." Stephanie and her friend Samantha Stine, both 10, are the only girls out of 25 players on the Northeast Bandits JV Flyweight 2 team. They might even be the only two girls to play football in the Suncoast Youth Football Conference, which includes teams from Azalea, Clearwater, Countryside, Dixie, Dunedin, Northeast, Seminole and Tarpon Springs. During the two years the girls have played tackle football, they have been among the best players on the team, said Everett Hamel, one of their coaches. Stephanie, a center on offense and right defensive end on defense, has not fumbled once while snapping the ball in a game. Samantha, a quarterback on offense, a safety on defense and a kicker, always scores a touchdown or two. "Not only do they play well, but they have more heart than many of the boys," Hamel said. "They genuinely want to play and improve." Although girls playing tackle football has become more common in recent years, the trend isn't catching on too quickly in local leagues, said Wayne Schmoyer, Suncoast Youth Football Conference president. Only one or two girls try out each year, and they don't always stay through the season, he said. "The girls we've had on our teams have been very good -- especially the younger ones," Schmoyer said. "We just haven't had a lot of them. The sport hasn't caught on for girls." It's the same in the Pinellas Youth Football Conference. The conference, which includes teams from Childs Park, Gibbs, Greenwood, Lakewood, Largo, Manatee, Palmetto, Pinellas Park, St. Pete and the Silver Raiders, has had only one girl this year, league president Geneva Waters said. Kedra Harvey plays wide receiver on the Largo Pee Wee team. Like Stephanie and Samantha, she is a good player and was even voted "king" of the team at this year's homecoming game, Mrs. Waters said. Rick Rodriguez, Stephanie's father and one of her coaches, said he was nervous when she first began playing tackle football. But when he saw that she could handle herself and that she loved the game, he didn't hesitate to let her play. "She surprised me," Rodriguez said. "She's tougher than she looks." Stephanie started out cheerleading when she was 5, but she couldn't pay attention to the moves, said Bette Merrill, her grandmother. She couldn't keep up with the cheers because she was watching the football game instead. "All along she wanted to play football," Mrs. Merrill said. "She wanted to be part of the action." Samantha also has played tackle football with neighborhood kids since she was a young girl. Her stepfather, Michael, taught her to kick with the side of her foot. Her uncle, David, taught her to drop her shoulders when she blocks. She begged her mother, Cindy Johnson, to let her play on a team for years. But Mrs. Johnson hesitated because she was afraid Samantha would get hurt. "I wouldn't be a parent if I didn't think about that," Mrs. Johnson said. "But now I'm glad I finally let her play. She loves it, and she's good." Samantha says butterflies fill her stomach before each game -- especially if she's going up against a good team like Clearwater or Countryside. But to calm her nerves, she focuses on the strong points of her game: her ability to run as fast as the boys, her strength and height, her passion for the game. "I try not to worry too much," she said. "I just pretend that I'm playing against a bad team, and I remind myself that girls can play just as well as boys." As of Thursday, Samantha had scored 11 touchdowns for the season, which began in August. Her goal is 15 by Saturday, the end of the season. Samantha said she also plays soccer, baseball, kickball and hockey. She is more interested in athletics than any other after-school activity. But Rodriguez said his daughter isn't always a tomboy. She dresses up on occasion and models for department stores in Orlando and Tampa. "She's tough like the boys on the field," Rodriguez said, "But she's quiet and more feminine at home." When Stephanie and Samantha started playing tackle football two years ago, the boys weren't too excited to have them on their team, Rodriguez said. They took it easy on them -- not blocking as often or tackling them hard. But now they treat them as equals. The boys don't hesitate to knock them down, and they even joke with them from time to time. Stephanie's friends don't tease her for playing football either. Many of them have said they admire her, and some even come to the games. A little girl asked Samantha for her autograph at a recent game. The girl said she thought Samantha would be famous one day. Shannon Brooks, who coaches the Midgets' team for 14- and 15-year-old boys, said the few girls who do play football usually stop by the age of 12. After that point, boys develop physically at a much more rapid rate -- making it difficult for girls to tackle them without getting hurt, he said. "I would welcome a girl on my team, as long as she could keep up," Brooks said. "I'm just working with an age group at which that becomes much more difficult." But not for Malia Walker, who played on the Dixie Junior Rebels' Midget team two years ago, when she was 15. Like Stephanie, Malia started out as a cheerleader for the Pinellas Park T-birds but quickly lost interest. Another girl was playing on the football team at the time, and Malia wanted to be just like her. "She definitely caught my attention," Malia said. "I wanted to be out there with her." Malia played for two years at the Pee Wee level and one year at the Midget level. She made Varsity all three years. Her coach, Dick Wilroy, said girls who play football when they're young usually give it up by the end of junior high school. "When they hit their teenage years, their point of view changes from "I can be as tough as the boys' to "I want to fit in with the other girls my age,' " Wilroy said. "The change is more social than physical." In high school, Malia considered becoming a cheerleader with many of her friends but turned it down to play volleyball and softball, said Linda Walker, her mother. "She never gave up her love for football," Mrs. Walker said. "She just started trying other things. She was growing up. She was becoming a lady." Mrs. Walker said she was glad Malia got involved with football, even though she was hesitant to let her play at first. Stephanie's and Samantha's parents agree. "Years ago, teams wouldn't allow them to play," Mrs. Johnson said. "Now parents are too scared. I have learned through Samantha that it's a great experience. More girls should get in there and try it."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Headlines From the Times local news desks |
