Female football player earning respect on the field
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KIRKLAND, Wash. -- The high school football season begins Friday night, and there's one athlete at Juanita High School who's breaking new ground in the rough and tumble sport.
Some athletes beat their chest and say, "look at me," while others quietly earn respect by the way they go about their business.
On the junior varsity team at Juanita High, sophomore Katherine Bechtel fits into the second category. The story of Katherine Bechtel, who goes by Kat, isn't a feel-good story -- it's a football story.
Yes, Bechtel is a rebel. Not because she's breaking down any barriers, but because she's a member of the Jaunita Rebels football team.
"Well, I mean it's such a great thing being out here," she said. "All the coaches are great and everyone on the team is great and, you know, we all get along and have a lot of fun."
It's not uncommon for a female kickers to show up, but it's not every day you see a girl in the pits, on the offensive line where muscle and plastic and grit clash together over and over.
"Some guys kind of go easy on her, and I just say, 'Do it like you were doing anybody else,'" said coach Cody Treddenbarger.
Respect is earned the hard way on the practice field, and anywhere else where pads and helmets collide. Bechtel has earned respect not by making symbolic statements about womanhood, but by making blocks.
"She's been involved in our program and she just understands our system," said coach Shaun Tarantola. "She knows what she's doing. She's a smart football player."
But you don't have to take the coach's word for it. Bechtel's teammates aren't shy about handing out compliments.
"I love her on my team. I love her on my o-line," said Nick Leverett.
Another teammate said she lifts more weight than some of the boys on the team and still another said she's the best offensive lineman on the team.
If you ask Bechtel what it takes to be a football player, she'll give you a simple answer.
"I mean, really you just have to want to do it," she said.
It's not what most girls choose to do, but Bechtel is running on a different path. The big deal about her is that she's not a big deal, at least not on her football team.
"For us, she's just another player on the team. That's the great thing," her coach said.
That's exactly how Bechtel wants it to be.
"Yeah, I mean, that's pretty much the way it is," she said. "I mean, it's a family, and so instead of being like their brother I'm like their sister, but it's all pretty much the same."
Bechtel is a sophomore and this is her first year playing with the high school team. The school's JV team plays its first game in two weeks, and Bechtel will be right there in the middle of it.
Some athletes beat their chest and say, "look at me," while others quietly earn respect by the way they go about their business.
On the junior varsity team at Juanita High, sophomore Katherine Bechtel fits into the second category. The story of Katherine Bechtel, who goes by Kat, isn't a feel-good story -- it's a football story.
Yes, Bechtel is a rebel. Not because she's breaking down any barriers, but because she's a member of the Jaunita Rebels football team.
"Well, I mean it's such a great thing being out here," she said. "All the coaches are great and everyone on the team is great and, you know, we all get along and have a lot of fun."
It's not uncommon for a female kickers to show up, but it's not every day you see a girl in the pits, on the offensive line where muscle and plastic and grit clash together over and over.
"Some guys kind of go easy on her, and I just say, 'Do it like you were doing anybody else,'" said coach Cody Treddenbarger.
Respect is earned the hard way on the practice field, and anywhere else where pads and helmets collide. Bechtel has earned respect not by making symbolic statements about womanhood, but by making blocks.
"She's been involved in our program and she just understands our system," said coach Shaun Tarantola. "She knows what she's doing. She's a smart football player."
But you don't have to take the coach's word for it. Bechtel's teammates aren't shy about handing out compliments.
"I love her on my team. I love her on my o-line," said Nick Leverett.
Another teammate said she lifts more weight than some of the boys on the team and still another said she's the best offensive lineman on the team.
If you ask Bechtel what it takes to be a football player, she'll give you a simple answer.
"I mean, really you just have to want to do it," she said.
It's not what most girls choose to do, but Bechtel is running on a different path. The big deal about her is that she's not a big deal, at least not on her football team.
"For us, she's just another player on the team. That's the great thing," her coach said.
That's exactly how Bechtel wants it to be.
"Yeah, I mean, that's pretty much the way it is," she said. "I mean, it's a family, and so instead of being like their brother I'm like their sister, but it's all pretty much the same."
Bechtel is a sophomore and this is her first year playing with the high school team. The school's JV team plays its first game in two weeks, and Bechtel will be right there in the middle of it.
Dont listen to the haters. Your team values you and your community does too. Â Keep up the good work!!
I'm JHS grad and think this too cool. Let kick ass! If she can hold her own, hell yes! GO REBELS!
I know this is gonna sound... Whatever... Girls have their sports and boys have theirs.
This is wrong in so many ways.
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Should we cross dress all sports?
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Boys on the girls swim team? Basketball? Tennis? Gymnastics?... Or is it just girls playing boy sports?
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It should go both ways... Right?
 @bobalouie Yes, it should and does go both ways. Did you read the story about the New York boy who plays field hockey with the girls' team because there is no boys' team in his district?Â
 @bobalouie Title IX was put into place so that girls had the same opportunities to play sports as the boys. Your question about boys on the girls teams should be answered this way--is there a boys swim team? boys basketball? Tennis? Gymnastics? If there are boys teams, then there should be girls teams. But occasionally a school simply can't put together a whole team of girls--so, in order to allow a girl the opportunity to play, the only option is with the boys team. So, let her try out, if she can compete with the boys, then what is the problem?Â