Do you think you have what it takes to make it as a female on a semi-pro football team? Probably not, if you can’t run a mile in under seven minutes or lift around 200 pounds, at least.
More than 20 women gathered at Melody Park last month, geared in cleats with water bottles in hand to prove they were tough enough for the team. To be exact, “tough enough to be an angel,” as the banner reads across the page of the Central Cal War Angels women’s football team’s website.
The War Angels held their final tryouts, mixing rookies interested in joining the team and with the return of most of last season’s players.
The players spoke and laughed, sharing a sense of camaraderie between one another as they eagerly awaited the arrival of head coach Jeff King and the rest of the coaching staff.
Undefeated division champions of the 2013 season, the semi-professional War Angels led an impressive 11-1 season, with their only defeat being a loss in the American Conference Championship game to the Dallas Diamonds.
“We’re probably the third best team in the league, but we need more specialties,” said Coach King.
Destanie Yarbrough, team member and running back of three years, comments on the positive attitudes of last year’s rookies returning as veteran team members this season.
“They’re proud of themselves and they’re proud to be War Angels,” adds Yarbrough, “It’s being part of a women’s organization, I think… just being a part of a team.”
The Central California War Angels are the only all-female contact football team in the Central Valley.
The team is just one of the many other 11-on-11 player teams represented under the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA), a league consisting of female football players across the U.S.
Men V. Women’s football: There really is no comparison
What’s the real difference between professional men’s football and semi-pro women’s football? There hardly is one, aside from the fact that women play with a smaller football. That’s it.
So why should the potential of women’s sports reaching the level of professionalism and exposure as males in football continue to garner ambiguous and sexists views towards women in pro sports?
Being the only full-contact women’s football team in the Central Valley, the War Angels are literally in a league of their own.
It’s difficult to imagine why sponsors wouldn’t be throwing offers towards the way of the team, its being the largest of three leagues in Women’s American Football (along with the Women’s Spring Football League and the Independent Women’s Football League).
California State University, Fresno student Ashley Thiner, who plays strong safety for the War Angels, believes that the degree of quality sponsorship plays a significant role in garnering the support necessary to establish widespread popularity of the women’s sport.
A personal fan of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, Thiner recognizes that gaining grounds towards marking a professional future for women’s football should revolve crucially around incentive. “We are going to progressively attain more sponsors and eventually get small bonuses for doing well,” said Thiner.
Unfortunately, challenges existing from former years don’t exactly allow for a season full of fun and games for the team; many of the girls attend Fresno State and some players commute from the Bay Area to make it to practice.
Often times, the ladies are required to travel to Visalia for practice, creating inconveniences and difficulty with practice scheduling for the team.
“We go from practicing here, to practicing in Visalia. We kind of do it on a rotation because we have girls in both places,” said Coach King in regards to the particularly straining scheduling inconvenience.
Players are community college, university students, police officers and social workers, and each member must prove to have the discipline it takes being dedicated to an aggressive sport like football.
FCC student Athena McCowan plays offense for the team and has been a member for five years. McCowan has been a passionate football player since playing Pop Warner in high school and sees no difference in the professionalism women display playing football than men footballers do in the NFL.
“There is nothing about this game that isn’t professional, as far as working hard and dedication and just what you do out on the field; we’re no different than the guys,” McCowan continues.
“It’s fair to say that even the WNBA doesn’t receive as much recognition [as it should]. That doesn’t mean it makes it any less professional.”
The team members all agree: it is no question that equal recognition of women in professional football should be an obvious next step towards marking a successful future for women in professional sports.
“It’s going to kind of be like the WNBA, we won’t ever be as big as the NFL but eventually we’ll make a big enough splash to catch the attention of American football lovers,” concluded Thiner.
