Play like a Girl
Sophomore tackles stereotypes on and off football field
While the sport
of American
football is maledominated,
sophomore and JV football player
Thalia Smith hopes to change
that. Smith began playing flag
football when she was five years
old, started tackle football in her
middle school years, and hopes to
continue throughout high school.
“Ever since I was a little
girl, I loved football,” Smith said.
“I always saw the boys playing it
and I wanted to play as well.”
Smith admits that she does
not feel any less a part of the team
than the boys despite being the
only girl.
“I’m friends with the guys
and I see them all the time, so
I don’t really miss out on team
bonding,” Smith said.
While her teammates
are supportive of her, she often
encounters disapproval from
rivals and faces certain challenges
from it.
“A lot of the time, if the
guys on the other team find out
that I’m a girl, they’ll get mad
that I’m playing and tell their
teammates to go extra hard on
me,” Smith said. “Players would
purposely try to get me hurt.”
Smith doesn’t expect to be
treated differently because she’s
a girl and is always prepared for
pain to be part of the game.
“When JV scrimmages
varsity, I have to play on the
varsity offense and a few times
I’ve had some of the really big
dudes lay me out,” Smith said.
“Even though I’d get hurt, I don’t
really mind because it shows that
they’re not going any easier on
me. Usually the boys who tackle
me apologize after, but I always
tell them that I joined football
to play and I understand that
it’s going to hurt sometimes.”
During drills, Smith’s
team helps uphold her wish
of not being seen as weaker
by practicing as they normally
would with their other male
peers.
“My teammates know
not to go easier on me, so they
rarely do,” Smith said. “Recently
we got a new guy on varsity and
I had to go against him and he
tackled me hard. I wasn’t really
expecting it, but I just dealt with
it.”
When it’s time to go out
for their games, Smith often gets
different reactions. Smith says
it’s usually other girls around her
age who have the most positive
reaction.
“It’s really the parents and
other adults who make it a big
deal,” Smith said. “One time I
heard one guy from the team we
were playing ask, ‘Who’s the dude
with the long hair?’ and to me
that was funny. When we have
to shake each others’ hands after
games, they usually just stare at
me.”
Smith hopes to spread
words of encouragement and be
a role model for other young girls
who are interested in playing
football. She left middle school
as the only girl on her team, then
found out the next year that 4
girls joined after she left.
“I thought that was just the
coolest thing, being able to inspire
them,”
Smith
said.