Freshmen begin their first year of high school participating in the usuals for a Roosevelt High School student — lunch at Whole Foods, their first homecoming, and of course the freshmen football team.
Among this year’s players is Aliana Santana, the only girl player on the freshman football team and in the whole Roosevelt football program.
Santana plays on the offensive line as left guard and started the season late this year. Santana said, “I wanted to play but it was mainly just the social aspect, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what are people going to think of me?’” She was also afraid her team would judge her because she is a girl and had no experience in football.
Santana had never played on a football team before this season. She said the reason she joined is because her mother played for a women’s football team in Chicago, the Chicago Force. This inspired her to try something new and be on a team with all males for the first time. Initially, she wanted to be a cheerleader but thought, “Wait, why don’t I just play football?”
While she is the only girl player at Roosevelt, she is not the only female football player in Seattle. In the 2021-22 school year at Bishop Blanchet High School, there was a girl on the football team, and in the 2018-19 school year there was another girl on the varsity team at Liberty High School.
Santana also is not the only girl football player in Roosevelt’s history. 14 years ago, there was a sophomore girl on Roosevelt’s varsity team playing as a kicker, Sarah Klein.
Outside of high school, there is also a Seattle women’s tackle football team called the Seattle Majestics that competes across the nation.
Santana said that the only challenge she has faced as the only girl on the team is the sometimes inappropriate comments her teammates make. She explained, “They’re going to say their stuff because they’re boys, and they’re going to do their things because they’re boys.” Other than that, she feels like she is treated the same as the rest of the team.
Taylor Rainwater, Roosevelt freshman football coach, and Ryan Sherlock, Roosevelt athletic director and varsity football head coach, both view Santana’s spot on the team as progress for the Roosevelt football program. Rainwater described Santana as a “great force on the defense” and that she is strong and intimidating to opposing teams.
Sherlock explained how beneficial Santana has been for the team’s growth and maturity, as well as from an athletic standpoint. He views Santana’s position on the team as “breaking barriers” and setting a path for more girls to feel comfortable joining the team.
Santana encourages more girls to join her on the football team as she plans to play again next year. However, she acknowledged that playing football is very time-consuming. “Go over your schedule like very detailed and just make sure, ‘Do I have time for homework, do I have time for myself?’ — because I’ll be getting home at 7 or 8 o’clock at night.”
According to a survey by The Roosevelt News taken by 36 Roosevelt students, 94% think girls should be allowed to play football, and 25% of the female-identifying students are now considering trying out for the football team next year after seeing Santana on the team.
Though football is co-educational, many non-male-identifying people that want to play are hesitant to break the mold and join the team.Santana, on the other hand, knew she wanted to play and gave it a try. If more women and non-binary people that want to play football join the team, as Rainwater says, “The stigma behind football being a dumb, male jock thing would go away.”
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