Dust rose from Giddens Park in Tampa as players, dressed in red helmets, shoulder and knee pads and cleats, violently tackled each other during a night of intense practice.

Watching with great disappointment was Tonya Doyle. She sprained her right ankle a week earlier, and Doyle was unable to join the fray.

Normally a bundle of energy, Doyle gingerly walked the sidelines, dispensing advice to her Tampa Tempest teammates as they ran on and off the field.

"This is killing me," said the starting defensive end on the new women's football team. "I can't stand it."

Some ask why Doyle -- or any woman for that matter -- would play professional football. It is especially grating when she hears dismissive comments from men.

"That upsets me," she said. "Respect is due. We're out here working hard and whether you like it or not, it's our choice."

What also complicates matters is that at 5-foot-4, many of the league's other players tower over her. And there's the issue of her job: she's a registered nurse.

Healer by day, bruiser by night? For Doyle, the answer is simple.

"It's a challenge for me," said Doyle, 35, who lives in Seminole.

Doyle grew up as a tomboy, climbing trees and going horseback riding in rural Virginia. St. Petersburg Junior College gave her a scholarship to play point guard on the school's basketball team, which she used to earn a nursing degree.

Eight years ago, Doyle started a job assisting Dr. Liberato Chapa, a Clearwater cardiovascular surgeon.

In August, Doyle was listening to the radio on her way to work when she heard about tryouts for a new football team in the Women's Professional Football League. Doyle knew a little bit about the game. She grew up a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan and still roots for the team. Her favorite player was Terry Bradshaw, the blue-collar quarterback who led the team to four Super Bowl victories in 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980. Doyle got information about the time and location of tryouts.

Though Doyle was smaller than most of the people who tried out, coach Holly Hewlett saw that she was full of determination. She also was faster than many of the others.

After being the 92nd person to try out, she made the team and got the uniform with the same number.

Doyle's boss was a bit worried.

"I was concerned about the fact it is quite a physical sport and she could have an injury that would keep her incapacitated for a while," he said.

And, to be honest, Doyle had similar concerns.

"I think that before I go out there I have to watch my hands, and when I get out there, I forget," she said. "If you are afraid, you are going to get injured."

While some nurses reveled in Doyle's foray into football ("I'm so jealous," said one), she said others questioned why she would risk injury.

"I don't know why I want to hit somebody," Doyle said. "I think we all want to hit somebody."

Coach Hewlett said Doyle's nursing background has helped the team. "Tonya has the ability to explain things to people because she works in a field where everything is so meticulous," Hewlett said.

Hewlett also has noticed how quickly Tonya Doyle, the football player, can turn into nurse Doyle when someone gets hurt on the field. Doyle will rush to the player's side to help and offer a preliminary prognosis.

If it weren't for that, there would be no way for someone to know Doyle works as a nurse, her coach said.

"You would never know Tonya spends the day operating on people," said Hewlett, who said Doyle is one of her best players. "She gets on the field, and she's an animal."

Late in the second quarter of her Nov. 4 game against the Miami Fury, two players hit Doyle from opposite sides as she rushed the quarterback. She fell to the ground as pain surged in her right ankle. Doyle kept quiet about the injury. Her coach didn't realize what happened until after the game. She has been sidelined since.

Doyle has almost fully recovered. She hopes to practice for the first time Thursday.

"You put your pads on and you feel like you can do anything," she said.

If you go

The Women's Professional Football League features 15 teams and opened its season Oct. 14. A 10-game schedule is to be followed by playoffs and a championship game Feb. 3. Tampa Tempest's home games are played at Chamberlain High School in north Tampa. Tickets: $15 for adults; $13 for students (with ID); $7.50 for 12 and younger and 55 and older. Next home game is scheduled against Minnesota at 7:05 p.m. on Dec. 2. For information, call (813) 806-0951. Click here for the Tempest home page.

Back to North Pinellas news

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

Special Links

Mary Jo Melone

Howard Troxler

From the Times
North Pinellas desks