Powderpuff Football Game Preview

Juniors
Powder puff girls football is back in full swing. The activity for upperclassmen girls gives students a chance to play football who might not have the opportunity otherwise. According to junior Grace Degoler, at East the game is more of a fun activity and is not taken very seriously. The teams play one final game against each other during dead week, when no other sports are going on-this gives the girls a chance to get a feel for what football is like and hang out with the girls in their grade.

“It is a fun experience being able to spend time with girls you usually don’t hang out with,” Degoler said.

The junior girls put together a team and have already developed a camaraderie says Degoler. Football players Connor Rellihan, Billy Sutherland , Vance Wentz and Nick Pirotte are coaching the junior girls. According to Rellihan, it is supposed to be a fun experience for girls to see what the game is like. The football players teach them the basics of football, like tackling and throwing. According to Rellihan, this results in the girls running around in circles and passing the ball to whoever is standing next to them.

“It’s tough teaching girls how to play football,” Rellihan said. “I don’t think I have ever been asked so many questions at once.”

The coaches organize practices twice a week for at least an hour to prepare for the game, which will take place after the football season is over. The girls work on running drills, tackling and scrimmaging during practice. Some of the girls don’t understand football so the practices aren’t very serious and usually becomes unorganized. It sometimes results in Sutherland telling junior teammate Brennan Williams to run through people’s legs.

“I am really enjoying powder puff so far because it is fun to see who is athletic and who is not,” Spradling said. “I was surprised to see how good some of them are and if I hadn’t joined the team I wouldn’t have known that.”

The coaches humor the players, according to Spradling. They like to joke around, but they also try to make the practice somewhat serious.

“The funniest things they have said about the team are ‘this looks gayer than a two dollar bill’ and we are ‘definitely going to die,’” Spradling said.

The juniors will face the seniors in a game coming up. The junior team is nervous that they won’t have a chance of winning because the senior team is strong and the referees are senior boys.

“I am nervous of getting injured,” Degoler said. “I think the senior team will be really good, I’ve talked to some of the girls on the team and they said they have some really strong players.”

According to Degoler, this has been a good bonding experience for the girls in her grade. The team is made up of a variety of different players and it gives them a chance to talk to people they usually wouldn’t. The girls have created more friendships because of powderpuff, according to Spradling.

“I have become closer with girls that I would have never talked to if I hadn’t played powder puff,” Spradling said.

Seniors
The senior powder puff team is ready to win this year after a disappointing loss last year, according to senior coach Elliot Faerber. The girls have been practicing twice a week, usually on Sundays and Tuesdays, working on a variety of things from throwing and catching to tackling with a mat. The team work on specific drills for certain plays and they end practice with a scrimmage against the coaches.

“Some coaches try and teach us some of their plays, but we usually don’t do them because we don’t think it will work in the game,” senior Lilli Stalder said. “We just throw it to someone that is open and run it.”

The senior coaches this year are Adam Lowe, Logan Rose, Elliot Faerber, Dylan Brett, Jeff Cole and Sam Heneger. According to Rose, it is interesting and fun teaching the girls how to play football and it is a nice break from the three hour practices he has to go to after school.

“We’ve got some really fast and athletic girls on our team,” Rose said. “I’m excited to see them avenge last year’s heartbreaking loss against last year’s seniors.”

A good amount of the girls played on the team last year, but this year they are taking it more seriously according to senior Taylor Wolf. Since many of them are returning players there is a lot of experience and returning talent, Rose says.

“I think they will have a better idea of what to expect and want to win since we came up just short of beating the seniors last year,” Rose said.

According to Stalder, the team is doing better this year and she is confident that they will do well.

Wolf, the quarterback on the team, gets a bulk of the coaches’ attention. Cole goes through various drills with Wolf trying to refine her throwing motion. One of which is where the coaches make Wolf slow down her throwing motion and break it down mechanically, focusing on hand placement and following through.

According to Stalder, the main goal for the team is to just get out there and win. The girls have been practicing and want to make it worthwhile, especially after losing last year. The only thing that would keep them from losing, according to Stalder, would be the lack of equipment protecting them.

“I want to play well after all of the work we have put into the practices,” Stalder said. “The only thing holding me back is the possible injuries.”

Overall, this has been a good bonding experience for the senior girls, according to Stalder. Even though they know everyone on the team, they don’t usually get to see them on a regular basis.

“I would say this is definitely a good bonding experience because there are a lot of seniors I get to talk with that I usually wouldn’t be able to at school,” Stalder said.