I’ve been meaning to ask this one for a while. I recently saw a news story that reminded me that I wanted to bring this up on the site. In the story there is a 14 year old girl that’s playing little league football. She surprised everyone by sticking with it and said she’s having the most fun of her entire life. Now one thing I did notice in the story was that there was no actual footage of her playing just standing on the sideline. Now I applaud her for trying but I came up with the question by watching a different girl.
A month or two back while we were on cheer leading duty with our 6 year old and watching the little league game she was cheering we noticed something odd in the backfield of the opposing team. What we saw was a girl named McKayla. Bigger than most of the boys but big good not big bad. She was taller and even looked more athletic. She was the starting running back and guess what, she touched the rock almost every play. I was proud of her even though I didn’t even know her. She was not there to prove a point, she was there because she was a beast on the field. Almost every snap was the same, the quarterback took the ball, handed it off to McKayla and she took off, gained a few yards and dropped the shoulder on some unsuspecting young sucka that always looked like they ended up with the worst part of the tackle.
This got me thinking, if one of our daughters wanted to play football would we be down and supportive? I already know that’s a no for TheMom. Boy, girl whatever she’s not an advocate of her kids playing football. But TheDad does wear the britches in this household :-). My 2 year old is rough and tuff and all that stuff. We even refer to her as the gangsta baby sometimes, plus she’s been as strong as a horse before she could even walk so what if she comes to daddy one day with a simple request to play football?
BMWK, would you let your daughter play football? Has it ever come up with you or did you know a girl that played tackle football? Is there an age you wouldn’t let her play anymore? Let us know.
Yes Dad…you wear the pants.. and you can wear those pants to the game to watch our girl be a cheerleader…because she is not playing football :-).
I’ll start off by saying that I don’t know any girls who’ve played tackle football…but I do have a rugby-playing sister. Rugby (in essence, football without the padding) is a rough and tumble contact sport that my sister started playing when she got bored with softball in high school. She’s always played on all girls teams but they smash into each other just as hard as the boys. It’s a scary sport to watch but my sister loves it and she loves the camaraderie of her teammates – she actually made ‘has a rugby team’ a big factor in her choice of college.
Rugby’s a pretty minor sport in the US but if you can find a team that might be a good option, especially in high school and beyond when most boys surpass most girls in size. That’s the point at which I’d probably want any daughter of mine to stop playing football. Just seems too dangerous once you get to that point.
I think every girl should at least know how to throw a football. And thanks to rugby, my sister can now take down people twice her size, which I think is important knowledge for any woman.
Martial arts can also be a good outlet for that kind of energy…
I will have to agree with Kat, that energy can be channeled elsewhere. I wouldn’t want my son to play football, much less my daughter. The sport is much too dangerous.
Too much of a contact sport for me to even consider any gender playing. Your opponent is out to kill you. I do enjoy watching it though. I am just one of those “not my child”.
I’ve told my husband that I’m apprehensive about future football injuries with our son – he’s only 3 and I’m pregnant with our second son. I would not encourage my hypothetical daughter to play football. I cannot imagine someone tackling her and a group of guys or girls piling up on top of her. I’m basically scared of injuries – don’t stats show the average footballer’s lifespan is 53 years of decent health? Call me chicken – no body contact for my future daughter.
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Put the pads on all you soccer moms. Football takes strength, endurance, intelligence, stamina, discipline and learning to work as a team.
I have three boys. Two play and one will be old enough next year so that we will have three playing. If I had a daughter that wanted to play little league, I would say “GO FOR IT!!”
All of the kids are roughly the same size in little league. They have age and weight limits. High School is a little different because size doesn’t matter. I would want her to be the kicker.
We have one or two girls in our league. They play just as well as the boys. We even have a football coach that is a woman. (Her team went undefeated.) She can wear her jersey and ten minutes later look like a model with the hair and nails. I kid you not. There is nothing manly about her.
Now, the question was “Would you encourage her?” Yes
“Would I WANT this for my daughter?” No (I would rather her be in the cheerleader outfit on the sideline.) Which by the way is not considered a sport, and has WAY MORE injuries than football. (But that is a whole different post….)
No. That’s my answer. I do not want my daughter playing football. But here is the funny part: I don’t want her being a cheerleader, either. Don’t ask me why, I just don’t. She is still a baby, but I long for the day I can get her into soccer. I guess that’s it. I don’t want her on the sideline cheering on boys. I want her on the field doing her own thing, just not with a helmet and pads on.
Also I don’t want my son playing football, either. I played as a child, and loved it. Still I don’t want him to play. I am not comfortable with it. All the lessons he can learn playing football he can learn playing other team sports.
I may change my mind later.
If my daughter wants to play, I’d let her and support her. Her Dad may feel differently. Kids can get hurt in soccer, hockey, gymnastics, etc… If her body can’t take getting knocked around, I trust her judgment enough to feel secure that she’ll stop playing when it is detrimental to her well-being.
Hi,
I play football (I’m 27), and if my step-daughter wanted to play, I would probably let her. Probably. But I don’t think I would let her play with the boys after a certain age, because one of the posters above is right – their main goal is to kill each other. Pee Wee is all about the fundamentals, and I wish I had played at that age…it would have made my rookie season in semi-pro much easier! But it’s true that at a certain age girls physcially aren’t as strong as boys and at that point, I would encourage her to join a girls league and stay with it or take a break but keep it in mind when she turned 18 and wanted to play in the women’s league.
All sports have injuries – I tore my ACL playing volleyball in college. With the right instruction and discipline, all kids can learn to play the game without hurting themselves or others.
i too play football even though im the only girl in my league. and its full contact. before i saw this page i thought that i could only play until my high school years were over then football would just be a sport that i would have played when i was little. now i know i can play even higher than high school , even though i cant go into the NLF i think i will play football my whole life
hey im a girl and i really want to play high school football but my dad wont sign the form and both parents have to sign how can i convence him to let me play please!!!!! help me!!!!
Women do play football. http://WWW.DCDIVAS.COM.
Also..USA FOOTBALL in partnership with the IWFL (www.iwflsports.com) just announced an iniative to have young women taught the game of football correctly.
Peace
Hello All,
My mother actually sent me this article. It is relevant because I am her 24 year old daughter that now plays full contact football in a woman’s professional league. It is relevant because I once wanted to play football when I was young and the same size as the boys however my parents weren’t about to let their daughter get tackled. So it wasn’t until I was given the chance to make the decision on my own, as a grown woman, to take advantage of the opportunity to play football.
I think it would be an interesting phenomenon to see how many girls would try the sport if parents actually allowed them to play as young girls. I think its evident by the number of professional teams that have been established throughout the country. Currently there are over 30 teams and more teams are added each year.
I hope you all think about giving your daughters a chance to excel in a sport you may not have thought of originally. What if Phelps wasn’t put in water or the Williams sisters weren’t introduced to tennis. Both scenarios have changed both sports forever and in both cases they have found something they truly enjoy.
I am currently a DC Diva and if you are interested in more information please check out our site or the league site that have included below.
Thanks,
Shara
DcDivas.com
iwflsports.com
Wow, I’m soooo glad I found this article. I’m a 43 year old black woman who is now a rookie on the Kentucky Karma Womens Professional Football Team.
When I was 16 my dad took me to a womens pro football game. I loved it! After the game I told my mother that I was going to play football when I turned 18 and she said “oh no you’re not!”
I’ve always been athletic and every sport I ever played I gave 100% of myself.
My mother is not atheletic. She didn’t understand why I wanted to play so many different sports. I take after my father who played baseball in college and in the minors.
I agree with Shara of the DC Divas, If I’d been given the chance to play when I was a child who knows what possiblilites could have emerged. I thankful to God for giving me a chance to play at my age. Understand I’m in good shape for my age and I’m addapting well to this game. Its alot of fun and I hope some of you mothers and fathers would reconsider letting your daughter play.
Thanks,
Check out the Karma at kentuckykarma.com
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my daughter is 7 and YES she plays football she loves it and is really GREAT at it !!! any girl out there if you really like football and understand the game then go for it there is no rules out there saying GIRLS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PLAY !! TELL MY DAUGHTER THAT AND I CAN TELL U SHE WILL PROVE YOU WRONG!!!
im a girl. i play contact football. i dont stand on the sidelines i made starting defense in 3 outta the 6 games we had. im 12 im a girl and i play contact football even though im the only gilr in my league
Im 11 but i will be 12 by football season, I rlly want to play and even some ither girls in my grade are going to play next year but i cant convice my parents to let me play. How did you get ur parents approval?
My daughter is in her 3rd year of pop warner (tackle) football. She is 10 and in the 5th grade and I will let her play as long as she wishes. She plays left defensive tackle (1st string) , offensive tackle (2nd string) and occassional subs for nose guard. She is actually really good at it and even decided to play lacrosse this spring to be in better shape for summer football camp and the fall season. The starting running back on our varsity team is 5’8 and #145….my daughter at 10 is 5’1 and #110..
.I dont think she will be “too small” to play when she gets there if that is what she wants to do.
I feel you. I would actually rather my daughter play football than be a cheerleader.
My daughter is 13 years old,in 7th grade and plays defensive tackle for her middle school football team. She absolutely loves it! She grew up watching two of her older brothers play as defensive lineman and always begged to play. As a mom, I was a little bit worried about her getting hurt on the field with the boys and was hesitant on letting her play but eventually I gave in and I am glad I did! She has so much confidence in herself now plus I know that any boy that attempts to mess with her She can take care of.
Wow i wish my parents were as awesome as you seem to be, I am in 6th grade but will be in 7th next football season and I rlly want to play and even have some (girl) friends that are going to play next year but i cant get my parents to evwn let me tryout. How did your daugther convince you to let her plau?