Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2009)
6 the clackamas print sport Wednesday, Oct, 28, 2.009 Ex-cheerleader tackles flag footb By Annemarie Schulte Assoctiate News Editor ■ I can’t believe I’m actually going through with this. I’ve signed my release form, I’ve bought a pair ' of cleats, I’ve gotten out of class early...even through I’m prepared, I’m scared out of my mind. Besides RE. in grade school, I’ve never played a sport in my 19yearsof existence. Throughout high school, I had RE. waived because I participated in at least two seasons of cheerlead ing a year Varsity Football and boys’ basketball cheerleading. I thanked. God every day for not subjecting me to P.E. and keeping my self-esteem intact 1 am the girl who hits herself in the face when trying to dribble a bas ketball or Spike a volleyball and tire girl who can watch an entire football game and not have any idea about what is going on in front of her. Nor am I meant to play sports; I’m unco ordinated and clumsy and I trip over my own feet ' The only experience I have ever had on a basketball court or football field has been cheering the players on, not playing in the game. That is my place, my home, on the sidelines. So why am I here standing on a field, trying to get myself to believe that I can play a sport? No idea. But it’s exhilarating. It’s my first flag football game and I have NO idea what I’m doing. Someone once told me to do at least one thing a day that scares me though, and that keeps running through my head. It moves my legs and makes me walk out onto the field. TVic gam© starts loeforc I am aware’ of .it andT’m mostly standing around for fear of getting in the way of peo- ■' pie who actually knbw where they’re going. It’s pouring down rain and I’m already soaked. I keep my head up though, determined to prove myself . as a girl, even more so as a cheer leader. I don’t really know what’s'going, on. Actually, I really have no idea what’s going on. I keep hearing terms thrown around like “shotgun,” ‘blitz,” and “go Short!” These boys might as well be speaking Latin to me. In feet, I may have a better chance of under- . standing that Numerous times I catch myself Four teams of Clackamas students took to the field in an epic flag football tournament on Friday, Oct. Oct, 23. The event by the Associated Student Government as part of the intramural sports. standing with the wrong team and running after the wrong team. I’m sure I look laughable, to tell the truth. At least there are two other girls on the other team and so I don’t feel so out of place with the 15 or so other guys sprinting around me. While I’m daydreaming, I real ize I’m on the wrong side of the field. Had I realized this by myself I wouldn’t have been so embarrassed, but it’s when one of team mates says, “Annemarie, over here,” and draws everyone’s attention to me that I blush. During the first game Lam called “the girl,” e.g. “someone cover the girl, get the girl.” My team wins and so we go on to another game. By this time I’ve realized that every time a ball comes even near me I run, scream and/or duck. It’s embarrassing and I seriously don’t know why I do it It’s then that it hits me that it’s my survival instinct For every sport I cheered for, if a ball was coming near you, you ran the other way. Run now, ask questions later. There was so many times I got hit by an out of bounds ball during a game that I know to just get out of the way. .So that’s what I do. Above: Garrett Schnell punts the ball to the opposing team as Annemarie Schulte hustles down field to tackle the kick returner. It’s the second game, and I am the only girl on the entire field. Now-1 feel out of place. I thought there were supposed to be two girls per team? It makes me feel pretty self-conscious. This team has dubbed me “Shorty” (although at 5’6” I hardly consider myself short for a girl, but I realize I’m nicknamed as so because I am the shortest player out here) and they con stantly forget to block me. I get a pass thrown to me because no one is ever guarding me, but it’s too high. If only I could have jumped a little higher, I could have had my one moment of sports glory. My hair that was beautifully straightened this morning is now drip ping wet and tangled. My socks are muddy, and my hands are freezing. Still I’m not going to sit out; I don’t want my team to think I’m-just a wimp. But my hair is my obsession and it’s kind of hard to get over the state of it right now, so I just throw it in a pony tail and try to forget about how long it’s going to take for me to comb it out later. By this time the grass has been tom up by all the cleats (which thank fully I am wearing or else I’m sure I’d be on my butt every other minute) and rain, so it’s basically pure mud and even with cleats it’s hard to get enough grip to run fest I’ve assisted in making a few tack les and gotten close to getting a few all by myself. I’m running around and actually kind of getting the gist of what’s going on. I’m no longer just stumbling around a muddy football field with a bunch of boys. We win our second game and go on to our third. I’m pretty surprised we’ve managed to stay undefeated with me on the team; I thought I was a jinx to sports. But I’m not messing up too bad and we’ve won all our games so I can safely assume by this time that my team doesn’t hate me and most likely will allow me to continue to play with them next week. . We win our third and last game (still no sign of any other girls on the last two teams we’ve played) and I’m so tired from runniia A few times I believe I sa flash before my eyes when! rounded by six or seven gm ing over me, running arod or jumping too high for me of the way. I’ve managed to stay i though, - and I haven’t ej once. I’ve stayed pretty cl hot dry) save for my socks,i hands. Honestly, I can’t real! it’s over. I can’t believe II ÍÍ //fc pourim down rain and] already soaked keep my headl though, determl to prove mysra a girl, even as a cheerleai without 1) embarrassing w of myself 2) felling and 3)1 too big, borrowed-from-M ketball shorts. Many a time I dangerously low while I was for my life. I feel good though. 11 tiling completely out of my zone, far from anything I wtj do. I’m actually looking M next Friday, and I’ve already] promise to myself to practice ing and catching the ball | memorizing and learning wM gun” means. Hey, maybe this is what M meant to do my whole life i cheerleading. OK maybe no girl can dream right? Even if I exactly where I belong, I’m one- hell of time playing fl game.
