The Girls Of Fall...
Garriott, Haecker playing football for Manchester Jr. High
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
Or at least in the case of one local middle school team anyway.
The country music star's 2010 smash hit “The Boys Of Fall” talks about the male-dominated sport of football, and the excitement and camaraderie that goes with it.
Well, at Manchester Jr. High, there are two girls that put on shoulder pads and helmets for the Squires.
Addie Haecker is an 8th grader. She wears jersey No. 55 and is a starter at linebacker.
Emma Garriott is a 7th grader. She wears jersey No. 16 and plays wide receiver, defensive back and special teams.
Like their male teammates, Haecker and Garriott take part in full-contact drills in practice. They run wind-sprints. They play in the games.
Outside of the fact they dress in a different locker room, they are no different than any other player on the team.
“When we are on the field I get so involved in the lesson I'm teaching that it never really occurs to me that they are different,” said Manchester Jr. High head coach Rex Addair. “To me, they are just two members of our team. Both of the girls are such competitors. I don't think they would let me treat them different if I tried.”
Haecker, a fan of the Purdue Boilermakers and Pittsburgh Steelers, is in her first year of contact football.
She’s always been interested in the game, and decided to play this year to prove that she could.
“This is my first year ... I got interested because I’ve always really wanted to play,” said Haecker. “This year I really pursued it because I told the guys I’d play and they said ‘you can’t do that.’ And I was like ‘well, I’m gonna play.’”
Haecker said when the boys told her she couldn’t play she “got angry, because I knew I could.”
Garriott has played football for two years, and said she became interested by playing the game with her cousins.
“I got interested because I played with my cousins, and I just started loving the game, so I played,” said Garriott.
Garriott said her male teammates don’t pick on her or Haecker, and she feels like she’s just one of the guys.
“When I get in there it’s like I’m a boy,” said Garriott. “They notice that I’m a girl, but that doesn’t change how they hit me and stuff. They treat me like a guy.”
Because he works with the receivers on a routine basis, Addair said he’s more familiar with Garriott, and he likes the effort he gets from her.
“Emma has been with my position group since Day 1, so I get to see more of her,” said Addair. “She is always making plays. She gets open and catches passes against our 8th grade starters everyday. Twice she has gotten interceptions on scout-team defense that would have scored touchdowns in a live game.”
At Manchester Jr. High there is just one team, both the 7th and 8th graders play on one combined squad.
Addair said he’s impressed with the way Haecker handles herself, and how she’s proved she deserves to start at linebacker.
“Addie is a starting linebacker,” said Addair. “She plays the part. She’s fearless and never backs down. She’s only going to get better.
“We didn’t have any pre-conceived expectations for the girls when they came in ... with that being said, I didn’t expect that she would come in Day 1 and push for that position. We don’t assign starters early on. We allow the players to dictate their own path through participation. If you want a position and think you can handle it, step up and take it. She has done just that. I’m so proud of how the girls have performed so far and how they carry themselves as members of this team.”
Addair is assisted by Nate Birch and Greg Finch.
Finch said it’s fun having the girls on the team, and with a smile from ear to ear admitted the coaches have watch what they say.
“It’s fun having them out here,” said Finch. “We kind of have to watch what we say. You don’t want to say something like stop playing like a girl, because these girls are tough. But it’s not an insult anymore. So, when you’re trying to get these guys motivated, you wanna say play like a girl, because you’ve got two girls that are not only playing football, they’re football players. They know how to play football.”[[In-content Ad]]
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Or at least in the case of one local middle school team anyway.
The country music star's 2010 smash hit “The Boys Of Fall” talks about the male-dominated sport of football, and the excitement and camaraderie that goes with it.
Well, at Manchester Jr. High, there are two girls that put on shoulder pads and helmets for the Squires.
Addie Haecker is an 8th grader. She wears jersey No. 55 and is a starter at linebacker.
Emma Garriott is a 7th grader. She wears jersey No. 16 and plays wide receiver, defensive back and special teams.
Like their male teammates, Haecker and Garriott take part in full-contact drills in practice. They run wind-sprints. They play in the games.
Outside of the fact they dress in a different locker room, they are no different than any other player on the team.
“When we are on the field I get so involved in the lesson I'm teaching that it never really occurs to me that they are different,” said Manchester Jr. High head coach Rex Addair. “To me, they are just two members of our team. Both of the girls are such competitors. I don't think they would let me treat them different if I tried.”
Haecker, a fan of the Purdue Boilermakers and Pittsburgh Steelers, is in her first year of contact football.
She’s always been interested in the game, and decided to play this year to prove that she could.
“This is my first year ... I got interested because I’ve always really wanted to play,” said Haecker. “This year I really pursued it because I told the guys I’d play and they said ‘you can’t do that.’ And I was like ‘well, I’m gonna play.’”
Haecker said when the boys told her she couldn’t play she “got angry, because I knew I could.”
Garriott has played football for two years, and said she became interested by playing the game with her cousins.
“I got interested because I played with my cousins, and I just started loving the game, so I played,” said Garriott.
Garriott said her male teammates don’t pick on her or Haecker, and she feels like she’s just one of the guys.
“When I get in there it’s like I’m a boy,” said Garriott. “They notice that I’m a girl, but that doesn’t change how they hit me and stuff. They treat me like a guy.”
Because he works with the receivers on a routine basis, Addair said he’s more familiar with Garriott, and he likes the effort he gets from her.
“Emma has been with my position group since Day 1, so I get to see more of her,” said Addair. “She is always making plays. She gets open and catches passes against our 8th grade starters everyday. Twice she has gotten interceptions on scout-team defense that would have scored touchdowns in a live game.”
At Manchester Jr. High there is just one team, both the 7th and 8th graders play on one combined squad.
Addair said he’s impressed with the way Haecker handles herself, and how she’s proved she deserves to start at linebacker.
“Addie is a starting linebacker,” said Addair. “She plays the part. She’s fearless and never backs down. She’s only going to get better.
“We didn’t have any pre-conceived expectations for the girls when they came in ... with that being said, I didn’t expect that she would come in Day 1 and push for that position. We don’t assign starters early on. We allow the players to dictate their own path through participation. If you want a position and think you can handle it, step up and take it. She has done just that. I’m so proud of how the girls have performed so far and how they carry themselves as members of this team.”
Addair is assisted by Nate Birch and Greg Finch.
Finch said it’s fun having the girls on the team, and with a smile from ear to ear admitted the coaches have watch what they say.
“It’s fun having them out here,” said Finch. “We kind of have to watch what we say. You don’t want to say something like stop playing like a girl, because these girls are tough. But it’s not an insult anymore. So, when you’re trying to get these guys motivated, you wanna say play like a girl, because you’ve got two girls that are not only playing football, they’re football players. They know how to play football.”[[In-content Ad]]
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