Local Ladies Play Women’s Football

By: Deb Wallace

TOLEDO, OH - Several members of this year’s Toledo Spitfire are graduates of a handful of high schools in the area, three players being Eastwood alumni; also Lakota and Waite are represented. The Spitfire are a member of the National Women’s Football Association, which has 36 teams in the league this season, and will expand to 40 teams next year. Sports and entertainment entrepreneur Catherine Masters formed the NWFA in August of 2000 with the first full season in the spring of 2001. The Spitfire was one of eight teams that joined the league in 2003. They were 2-6 in their inaugural season, 3-5 in their second season, but were 0-8 this year. With having a roster of only 30 ladies, the early injuries to almost one-third of the roster hurt the team early. There were several players that played through injuries all season because they were able to and wanted to be there for their teammates.

With football being what it is, it makes plenty of sense that guys play the game, but what drives women to play such a rough sport? Eastwood graduates Sandi Bowen and Christine Gonzales both wanted to play starting in the seventh grade, but both were told that they were not allowed. So, when each found out that there was to be a women’s team in Toledo, they jumped at the chance to play the game. Jessie Torda, a graduate of State Line Christian HS played football with the guys in the neighborhood and always watched games with her dad. Mandie Robinson wanted to play because football is a real sport that requires skill, talent, heart, and strength and is also very fun. But football is not the only thing that most of these women have sports-wise in their lives. They were involved in things like track, softball, basketball, cross-country, soccer, road races and even boxing. But what makes football different?

Each of the women have varied reasons for liking the game. Gonzales likes the game for itself and Denise Thompson likes all the hitting they get to do. Bowen likes the team aspect of the game because “many people have to work hard together, to make it work and how it pushes me both physically and mentally to my limits.” Robinson agrees about working together as a team but adds that she “likes being able to take out aggression in an athletic outlet” and “being able to shine on the field.” Whereas Torda sees this as a way to prove that football is not just a guy’s sport. As for what they don’t like about the game, the answers are fairly simple. Robinson and Torda both agree that losing is the worst part of the game. Bowen says “what I didn't like about football was the pain, but each year as I play and learn the game more, I experience less and less of it.” As for Thompson and Gonzales, they say that there is nothing that they don’t like about the game. That being said, everybody was pretty much in agreement that this season was hard, full of frustration, disappointment, and adverse conditions. Even with all of this, they felt that the team never gave up, played through it and is better for it. Robinson feels “We do have a lot of heart and we all love the game which is why we stuck it out. We grew closer as a team and learned a lot. We still had a lot of fun.” The team really did learn a lot with just about every player on the team having to learn at least two positions. Through all of this the ladies improved their own play as well as helping to improve the team’s overall play too. When asked what they would like to see for next season, everybody was in agreement that they would like to have more players and a few added they would like to see more organized practice sessions.

In light of having such a rough season, the ladies all said that the team as a whole had the passion for playing the game. Bowen felt that the whole team had the drive to play because “Almost every girl had injuries throughout the season that they had to overcome and continued to have a never quit attitude.” Torda picked out QB Cathy Yungmann for the fact that “she was the leader we needed on the field, she had a lot thrown at her this season, but she stuck it out for her teammates.” In addition, Robinson tabbed Sandi Bowen as an outstanding player because Bowen played the last few games with a broken wrist in a cast and a slightly dislocated rib at the very end of the season. Overall the team truly played hard and showed the other teams that even though they were small in numbers, they were big in heart.

As for the future of women’s football, Bowen sees the sport continuing to grow, with the skill level rising and improvements in overall operations of some teams as they learn from experience. Whereas Robinson would like to see more exposure for the teams and the league overall since it is still a little known entity, she adds that a bigger fan base would be nice too. Consistent growth and respect is what Torda would like to see. Thompson jokes, “I hope to see all of us on ESPN and get paid the big bucks.” As for the future of the Spitfire, the team is planning on having mini-camps in the off-season to keep the current team sharp and to help recruit other ladies to play. More information as it becomes available about the team and their activities can be found at www.toledospitfire.com.

(Edited version published June 27, 2005 in “The Press” weekly paper)