This fall I became the first girl to ever to play on Confederation's senior boys football team.
My football journey started in Grade 10 when the flag football coach approached me in the hall. He told me that he could use a girl with my stature and athletic ability on his team. I felt a little off-put when I attended tryouts and realized I was the biggest girl there. At 5-11, my size had always made me kind of an outcast.
I ended up making the team, earning the position of offensive and defensive linemen. I picked it up quickly, getting better and better every game. My team played against Marymount in the finals, but we came up just short, taking home a silver medal.
I continued playing through Grade 11. We ended up going the whole season without having a single touchdown scored against us. We made it to the finals that year as well, but again lost to our rivals, Marymount. It was a devastating loss after all the work we put in during the season.
At the end of the Grade 11 school year there was a rumour the school board was removing all contact from flag football, changing the game from 12 versus 12 to a more open field of 7 versus 7 version.
For those of you who are unaware of how flag football works, it is very similar to regular tackle football. The goal of the game is the same, but instead of tackling your opponent to the ground you have to remove the flag belt from around the ball carrier's waist.
My position on the line either protects our quarterback by blocking if we're on the offence, or tries break through the offensive line to flag the other team's quarterback if we're on the defence.
It was confirmed by the end of the summer of 2018 that the rumours were true — they were removing contact from flag football to prevent injuries. Because the line's sole purpose is to block, and blocking was removed, effectively so was the line. It irked me that I was no longer able to play my favourite sport all because the school board didn't want us getting hurt, when the boys were allowed to tackle each other to the ground. The board's decision still doesn't make sense to me.
I wasn't going to just stop playing the game that I love so much, so I decided to kick it up a notch. I spent a good couple weeks discussing with my parents the pros and cons of trying out for the boys team. Would I be athletically fit enough to keep up with them? Would the coach tell me that a girl can't play tackle football? Would they all just laugh in my face?
These were all things that ran through my mind. I talked to a couple of guys that I knew on the team about it and they told me that they knew for sure I'd be strong enough. They also said the coach would be stupid not to take me.
So, I showed up on the first day of tryouts and the reaction I got was nothing like I was expecting. I thought I would have to fight to be able to try out. I had a whole speech about how I had a legal right to try out for the team and they couldn't stop me. But I was shocked when the boys greeted me cheerfully. One of the assistant coaches walked by and did a double-take when he saw me. He asked me if I was trying out. When I nodded, he gave me a pat on the shoulder and said, "Good on ya, girl."
Unfortunately, there were some younger guys trying out for the junior team and I could hear them whispering, "OMG she's a girl! Girls can't play football!" I decided that if I wanted to be on this team there was no shying away. I walked up to the gawking boys and told them if they thought I shouldn't be there, they should prove that girls can't play football by going up against me on the field. I think the fact that I was towering over them effectively put an end to the whispers.
When was it decided girls are incapable of participating when it came to full contact sports?
I suited up and hit the field. Wearing my equipment sent a surge of power down my spine. I walked with a confident stride, holding my head up and my shoulders back. Ironically, I felt more beautiful than I ever had. It was the first time I really accepted my size and didn't look at it as a negative thing.
I felt overwhelmed with the amount of support I had from my team. They were happy to help me when I was unsure about what I was doing. The guys I would tackle in practice got teased that they got taken down by a girl. The teasing didn't last long though, because when my coach caught wind of it he made sure to tell everyone that they weren't being tackled by a girl; they were simply being tackled by a football player. It was heart-warming to know that I wasn't just the girl playing boys football. I was a member of the team, no matter my gender.
Of course, it didn't all go so smoothly. Although my team was completely accepting of me, some of the opposing players were not. I got a fair amount of sexist comments thrown in my direction. I was told to expect that some guys would go easy on me because they were afraid to hurt me, while other guys would intentionally hurt me to prove that I didn't belong. That's exactly what ended up happening.
Actually I find it kind of funny that contact was taken out of flag to prevent the very few sprained ankles and minimal injuries that the players recieved, because in my time on the boys team there were half a dozen dislocated joints, sprains and even broken bones. But it's OK for them because boys will be boys, right?
I am living proof that we don't need to put bubble wrap around girls when they play sports.
I'm proud to say that I inspired two younger girls from my school to try out for the junior team and I hope that my story might change the way girls are treated in the world of sports.
Although it was tough, trying out for the boys team was the best decision of my life.
Annie Duncan, a.k.a. Intern Annie, is a co-op student from Confederation Secondary who is spending the next few months in the Sudbury.com newsroom. Follow her exploits on Instagram @Intern_Annie and on Twitter @InternAnnie.
