Girls flag football team makes herstory

“At the time, I had been offered a coaching position at Cleveland to coach their defensive line up for their Varsity boys football team. I think after about the third time he asked me, I said yes.”

After becoming the head coach, Coach Cox held tryouts in the beginning of June and the girls flag football team was formed.

Overall the team has had an alright year, winning four games but losing ten. The Wolves won their first game against Sherman Oaks on Sept. 11 with a score of 12-6. The team unfortunately went on a two game losing streak losing to Marshal with a score of 32-18 and Cleveland High school with a score of 20-6. The team came back from those games even better than before, beating out Eastside High School with a score of 12-0.

The lowest point of their season was during their game against Cleveland High School on Sept. 21. The Wolves lost with a score of

“Moments that matter the most are when we all come to practice and work hard together. When we lose, it’s something that we don’t like but in those moments we grow as a team. As a captain I try to motivate my teammates by giving speeches and providing words of encouragement.”

“I put 100 percent into every game we play and try to stay positive to the best of my ability. I make sure other players realize their mistakes aren’t the end of the world. One person doesn’t cause the team to lose the game, it really is a team effort.”

20-6. On top of that, tensions between the players and the opposing team escalated. Twice, disagreements almost resulted in physical fights, and a copious amount of inappropriate language was used.

“The sportsmanship was not there,” Varsity running back Mayleene Zamora said. “We were trying to be respectful. As much as we wanted to stand our ground as Van Nuys, it was not the right thing to do so we knew that we had to be civil. At the end of the day, we were there to play a game.”

The team has held two fundraisers this season through which they sold merchandise and breast cancer awareness pins. Nonetheless, they have not gotten the amount of attention other sports teams receive.

“Football is more appreciated because they already have a foundation, they already have a large background and they already have a hype around the sport,” Varsity free safety Olamide Olumide said. “We don’t have anybody to support us yet. We have been winning games and people aren’t there to see it. If people paid more attention and saw how good we actually are, then maybe they would be more hyped up to come and support us.”

When it comes to funding and promotional resources, the girls are building from the ground up. The team has had problems with buying extra stuff for the team to enjoy such as hoodies and senior gifts.

The team is also aware of the stigma surrounding football that discourages some girls from joining the sport, particularly that it is harsh and dangerous. As a former cheerleader, Varsity player Elizabeth Castillo empathizes with this perception.

“I remember when we were trying to recruit girls, I noticed that many girls were scared of the assumed aggressiveness and the masculinity of the sport,” she said. “Going into the season, I was very scared because it was brand new. I came from a very girly sport and I thought it would have been rough out there, but it’s not at all. Now that I’m playing more, it’s a really fun game.”

The girls feel great about their season thus far.

“For the first girls flag football team at Van Nuys, I think that we’re gonna make history,” Zamora said.

All in all, the addition of the flag football team provides an opportunity for students to represent the school community. With this new sport, there’s potential for setting a foundation for future flag football enthusiasts at school.

“As the first team, I hope to let other girls know that this is a sisterhood,” Castillo said. “It’s not about being on top of one another, it’s about supporting and critiquing each other and taking it in positively because we all have to work together and try our best to win.”

“The moments that matter the most to me are the ones where the whole team comes together after a game and discusses it. Whether we win or lose, we will talk about what happened, congratulate the victories, figure out what we could’ve done better and overall grow closer as a team through these discussions.”

“I learned that you need to be very organized and on top of schedules so everything we planned goes accordingly. I motivate my team by reminding them that if we want to win rings this season, we have to put in the work during practices, performances and games.”

“It’s hard to get someone who’s having a bad day to try their best to keep going. It’s all about having a close relationship with your teammates so that they trust you. I look forward to getting to know my girls and getting to see what they’re able to do this season.”

“I look forward to all of the lovely memories I get to make with my team: the drives home after away games and the cute, silly pictures we take before matches. I know that I will miss these memories and the team once I graduate.”

BY ISABEL VALLES

THE MIRROR ATHLETICS EDITOR

As I sat in my sixth period seat, my feet were twitching. I watched the clock in my classroom finally hit 3:38 p.m. I rushed home eager to get ready for something that I had been waiting for ever since the start of the summer: the first boys football game of the season.

I arrived ten minutes before the game and claimed a spot on the bleachers from where I would be able to see everything. I sat down and took in how important this game was.

The bleachers were full of students and parents, and all the administrators were sitting comfortably on the field in front of the endzone. JROTC students were there selling food for everyone. The cheer team was also in attendance cheering the team to victory the whole night.

That night, the football team won their season opener and I only had one thing on my mind: how excited I was for the girls flag football season to begin.

Seeing all the school spirit that was put in by the staff, cheer team and JROTC students for the boys football team made me thrilled to see what the school would do for the girls flag football team, especially because this game would be a big deal. It was the first flag football game in the school’s history.

I had been interested in joining the flag football team since it was first announced by Athletics Director Mr. Dion Coley last year. Luckily, I got accepted into the team after trying out in June. I believed that since this was a brand new sport, students and staff would be interested in the newly formed team and wanted to support us throughout our journey as the first team.

However, inherent inequalities were noticeable from the start.