Friday night football games bring a sense of community to FHC; almost every student finds themselves participating in some way. Whether it’s dressing on theme, cheering in the stands, playing on the field, or being in the band, football is a significant part of our school’s culture.
With football being a huge aspect of FHC, it seems almost impossible that girls’ football is not already a part of our school, especially with how excited many girls get to participate in Powderpuff, the annual girls’ flag football game. Athletic director Jonathan Goei would love to eventually have girls’ football included in our athletic program.
“I think [girls’ football] would be awesome, if I am being completely honest. I think there would be a lot of kids who would be [interested],” Goei said. “I think we would [potentially] have a good group. I think it would be a great opportunity for our girls.”
Hearing this from our athletic director brings much joy to know there is a potential for girls’ football to be a part of FHC’s community. However, there is a controversy on whether the team should play tackle or flag football. Sophomore football player Lincoln Tompkins has a strong opinion on whether or not girls’ football should be tackle or flag.
“What’s the point of playing flag football when you can play tackle football? It’s fun, especially when you want to get your aggression out,” Lincoln said. “You can’t get your aggression out like that in flag football. So yes, [girls should play tackle football].”
Though Lincoln has a strong belief that girls should play tackle football instead of flag football, it’s much more complicated than that.
“I would think [the girls would have to play] flag football,” Goei said. “And I say that only because from what I understand, no other schools are looking at full contact, full-padded girls football, so there just wouldn’t be [any teams] to play.”
Though those words may darken the mood for some, there’s still so much excitement and joy from all sorts of girls at the idea that football could be a sport with easy access to any girl and can become a part of our school’s culture. Junior Violet Belsito, a Powderpuff player, recognizes the potential a flag football team would have.
“I think [football] is just a cool sport to watch, and just thinking about playing it would be super fun, especially because [girls] don’t have the opportunity to,” Violet said. “I absolutely loved [Powderpuff]. I found it [to be] so much fun.”
It only makes sense to include some sort of girls’ football program in FHC. There are so many students whose lives are fully involved in football, whether it’s on their own terms or with family being into the sport. There seems to be many girls interested in football.
“If there’s an audience for it and people want to [play], it should be utilized,” Lincoln said. “We just put men’s volleyball [as a sport] this coming spring, so if people want to do [flag football], we should [have it].”
Including girls’ football in our school would help gather tons of girls who are not big into a certain sport, because there’s likely no one with past experience playing flag football, so it would likely be less competitive than other sports initially. Adding it would also help stop the biased idea that certain things are only for guys; it would help express the idea that girls can do anything guys can. It is essential for FHC to really move forward in making girls’ football a part of our sports program.
“I mean, for the number of girls that would want to play, I think we’d have a pretty stealth team,” Violet said. “I think it brings another sport to the school, which automatically brings in more community.”
