Women's Footy: We Are All Game Changers

Over a decade ago, I fell in love with a sport that I had never heard of and happened to discover.

It was unlike anything that I knew but integrated all the traditional sports that I grew up playing. As a single mother and recent college graduate, joining the Arizona Hawks fulfilled my craving to be a part of a team. Alongside my sister (by choice, not birth), now my coach, I played my first game at the 2005 USAFL Nationals in the inaugural women's division. 

Each game during that weekend, including the Sunday celebrations, was electric.  While no one then could see the league growing beyond the 3 teams who played 9 a side, we knew that we were a part of something unique, life changing and most of all special. 

Fast forward to 11 seasons, nearly 200 of players, close to 15 teams, two internationals teams, three international tours, six female coaches, nearly 10 female umpires, hundreds of supporters and countless participants in home clubs, the women's division has blossomed into a league of teams spanning the entire United States.

When the AFL announced that there would be a women's professional league and they were looking for talent to fill 8 squads a buzz quickly spread through our domestic league. Even though the focus was seemingly to recruit Australian talent, the electricity that ignited so much interest in 2005, was reignited and felt across our league. For the first time, we would have opportunity to watch  women play professional footy.  We would be able to learn from them and we could maybe, even, kind of, hopefully play along side them. 

Back in February, Kim Hemenway from the New York Magpies and Katie Klatt from the Sacramento Suns responded to that league wide excitement and embarked on a whirlwind trip to Sydney to represent the USAFL and attend the AFL women's talent camp. I was excited. When they later were selected to play in Sydney alongside a team of female Australian footballers, I was beyond excited, I was proud. 

Now, this pride was more than that that of a teammate.  Sure, it was great to see my teammate and vice captain of the Freedom step foot on the beautiful field of the SCG after only discovering the sport a couple years prior. Sure it was great to see one of my closest friends and long time Magpie teammate lead as the top scorer of the game.  More than those accomplishments, it was knowing that my teammates achieved the goals that we did not think could become a reality for American women and that these goals were made possible because our league banded in support then cheered with pride.

The adage is that it takes a village to raise a child.  In our case, it takes a village to grow this game. It takes that first person to put up their hand and say I'm going to start a team.  It takes someone who has never seen this sport played to have the sense of adventure to say,  "I want to play this". It takes the love for this game, for an player sidelined by injury to decide to continue her footy career by becoming a coach and leading a next generation of players. It takes a player who somehow has more in the tank after playing a game to grab a whistle and take the field as an umpire. It takes the patient guidance from those who grew up playing this sport. It takes the team who continues to have training sessions even though they only have a few players who can attend. It takes many evenings and late nights of seemingly endless planning to set the upcoming season. It takes countless emails, conference calls, numerous explanations of the game, recruitment at any and every social setting to execute those plans and ensure they run smoothly.

It took a village to start this league but it took a tribe of footy-obsessed fanatics to grow our game across this country and relentlessly push our game to new levels. We dubbed Kim and Katie’s journey with #USAFLGameChangers. Really, each and every player has had a hand in growing this league and has earned that title.

We are all USAFL Game Changers.

To get involved with growing women's footy in the United States contact the USAFL Women’s Association  womens.association@usafl.com