Samantha Sanchez wouldn’t mind turning pro; until then, she’ll
suit up for the Hollister Vikings
HOLLISTER
When Samantha Sanchez takes the field, she adorns an endless of amount of pads and a large masked helmet that would camouflage the identity of just about anybody who wore it.
A simple uniform jersey, meanwhile, turns the 11 individuals on the field into one singular team, leaving the name printed on the back of the jersey as the only real identification.
But in Peninsula Pop Warner, where pre-game introductions are standard, some of mystery surrounding No. 81 is lifted.
“Oh yeah,” Sanchez said, “they know I’m a girl.”
And she’s proud of it, too.
An 11-year-old gridiron girl – she will be 12 on Monday – Sanchez has been playing Pop Warner football for two years now, joining the Hollister Vikings this season. A sixth-grader at Gabilan Hills, she plays mostly on the offensive line at the right tackle position for the pee wees, sometimes on the defensive line as well, and even a little bit at tight end.
“I’m really fast and I like to hit,” Sanchez said. “I like to show guys that girls can do anything that a guy can do.”
Where Sanchez’ passion originated for a male-dominated sport is unclear. Watching it on television every Sunday certainly stirred interest, but Sanchez, said her mother Amanda Arias, is the only one in the household who watches football on the weekend.
By the way, she’s a Raiders fan.
“I’m gonna make it to the NFL,” Sanchez said. “I’m gonna be the first girl to play in the NFL.”
Whether interests change over the next couple of years for Sanchez, she’s already made the first step – always the toughest – by simply joining the team, and is the only girl currently playing within the Vikings organization.
Although not the first girl to suit up for the Vikings, Sanchez is the first girl to play under pee wee head coach Larry Murphy, who’s been coaching the Vikings for 14 seasons. He said Sanchez has no fear whatsoever and will match up with anybody.
“I think the boys are more worried about her, showing them up,” Murphy said. “And it’s happened on the field.
“She holds her own. She’s not afraid to get in there and lay a shoulder. She’ll get in there just like the boys do.”
The physicality of the sport initially deterred Arias. After football practice one evening, when Sanchez was playing for a team in Watsonville, Arias watched her daughter limp toward the car – bumps and bruises are part of the game, after all.
“‘Sammy,'” said Arias, who just watched Sanchez limp over, “‘you have nothing to prove.'”
Sanchez responded, “‘Who said it’s only for boys.'”
Although Sanchez is the only female Viking right now, Murphy said he’s seeing more and more girls competing in Peninsula Pop Warner.
“I think it’s great, and I’m not gonna turn them away,” Murphy said. “If a girl wants to come out and play, come out and play.
“If they want to learn the game and play the game, let’s strap it on and get after it.”
And all Sanchez wants to do is play the game, whether the opposition teases her or not. One player, early in the season, asked her why she playing football and not practicing with the cheerleaders.
“I don’t like dancing,” she said simply. “People can call me a tomboy, but I can be girlie some times.
“And when I get the football, I’m a whole different person.”
