When you go to the freshmen football games this year you might notice a long blonde ponytail sticking out of a helmet.

That long blonde hair belongs to ninth grader Mollie Schulman, who is a kicker for the Langley 2012-2013 freshman football team.

Many might be asking “Why”, “Why would a girl want to play football?”

But after years of being the only girl on the Langley Boys hockey team, I have an answer. Schulman doesn’t really care what other people think.

Schulman has been playing soccer since she was three. One day, she decided to kick a football, which caused her to consider trying out for the football team.

Not only does it take guts to try out for a team with fifty boys, but it also takes an extreme amount of dedication.

From training with her father to working out in the gym, Schulman spent most of her summer perfecting her kick.

I know firsthand that being part of a team full of boys is easier said than done. And one important thing to understand is that Schulman had to actually become a member of the team.

She is on the roster, she is in the team picture, and she will wear her jersey to school on game days, but that alone doesn’t build a bond with her teammates.

Schulman says that at first it was awkward, but gradually over time she started to feel like any other football player.

Schulman insists that she is part of the team, and even thinks that if a player from another team hit her, her own teammates would definitely stand up for her.

Many other girls out there like Schulman and I are not playing on all -boy teams for the attention or for the looks we get when we strap on the pads.

We are playing these sports for the pure love of the game.

Schulman thinks that trying out for football is one of the best decisions she had ever made. She went through grueling summer tryouts, and hard practices not to be known as “the girl on the football team,” but rather because she loves to play football.

Schulman has big dreams of playing varsity when she is older, and she doesn’t care if you approve of this or not. And more power to her.