October 12, 2022 • 25 mins
Host Caroline Hendershot is joined in studio by New Jersey high school girls flag football coaches Dr. Simone Edwards and Mia Brickhouse (Hawthorne High School). They kick off the podcast talking about their various accolades as football players and multi-sport athletes and how their path brought them to coaching (00:17). The ladies also speak about what it’s like to break the mold as women in football (4:43), and they reminisce on their best memories of playing football and their biggest accomplishments (8:25). The coaches explain the process of how the Hawthorne High School girls flag football team was assembled (12:00) and the challenges of teaching flag football and coaching the details of the game (14:10). The group also talks about the courage it takes to step into a coaching role and their favorite moments from the spring season (18:58). Finally, they talk about the impact of the participation in their team and they look forward to the upcoming season of flag football (21:30).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome into another episode of New Yorker. I'm your host,
Caroline Hendershot, and today I am joined by two incredible women.
I cannot wait to introduce you to Dr Simone Edwards
and Mia brick House, two coaches for the Hawthorne High
School Girls Flag Football League this past season, and you
guys lead Hawthorne High School to the championship in your
(00:27):
first year in the league. So incredible feats for both
of you. Thank you so much for coming. I'm so appreciative,
of course, of course. Okay, so before we dive fully
into the girls high School Flag Football League, I want
to get a little bit into each of your backgrounds,
because you guys are some of the most impressive women
I've read up on as of late, like the most
(00:49):
athletic and just continuing to expand all of these opportunities
for young girls and young women across the state of
New Jersey. Really, I guess so both of you you
were very accomplished college athletes. I want to start. I
wrote it all down because there's too many accolades to
just remember. So Mia, you played, you went to Villanova,
(01:11):
and you were very accomplished there. But then once you
graduated you played with the Philadelphia Liberty Bells of the
National Women's Football Association. Then you joined Massachusetts team and
played with them all the way untill you won two
gold medals with the U S national women's football team
and you were considered one of the best all around
players in women's football. Like, okay, that's casual. I just
(01:34):
didn't want to do something boring. I didn't want to
work the desk job. And Dr Edwards you too. You
went to Fairleigh Dickinson University of Madison. You were the
school's female athlete for three years in a row. Yes,
played basketball, volleyball, and softball, so not one but three sports.
Then you were two time All American. You played for
(01:55):
the Philadelphia Phoenix, and now you're a founder and owner
of the New Jersey Titans. Will Mean's football team. Like
you too, It just doesn't stop with the ball. We
keep pushing the envelope. So what made you both go
into football? Because obviously that wasn't a sport that was
offered in college for women. So how did you both
find it? You want to start? Sure? Sorry, I um,
(02:19):
I was accomplished, um, you know in basketball, and then
after I graduated, you know, as athletes. We want to
keep going and find something else on that level. So
my nephew actually read an article UM that they were
hosting tryouts in Philadelphia. And so I love football, you know,
grew up watching it, always playing in the streets like
the tomboy, you know, with with the neighbors. UM. And
(02:40):
he said, you know, why don't you go out for
the team, And I said, I think I'm going to.
So even though it was in Philadelphia, that was the
only team that was close to me at that time, UM,
And so I went out, you know, made the team.
That's where I met why I called her Brock. That's
where I met Brick. Um. You know, we we've been
family ever ever since. But I was really just looking
for something that was high level, UM, because that's what
(03:02):
I was just playing. Right. You were used to the
high level of athletics, and like Brick said earlier, you
can't give that up easily. So you have to find
the next level of it. How did you get into it?
Me a little different. I was actually in law school
and I hated it. I just the learning was great.
So for those yes, academics all the way, but I
(03:24):
just I needed an outlet and I found out that
someone in the athletic department played tackle football, and this
girl was a hundred and ten pounds, soaking wet like
dangly arms, and I thought, if she can play, I
definitely can play, and then I was hooked. From that point.
Was it intimidating for either of you to experiment in
(03:45):
a sport that typically completely only for guys and also
that you've never played before. I don't think so much
in regards to it being a guy's sport, But I
think when I went and I saw all these women
who were ginormous, but I think that was probably more
intimidating for me than just knowing that it was a
(04:07):
guy sport, you know. But but the the level of
intensity and just the you know, the excitement of it, um,
I think got me over the hurdle of being intimidated. Yeah,
when you first tried out and you first walked into
that tryout, what was your initial reaction. My initial reaction
was similar to docks, which is this is great that
(04:31):
you see all types of bodies and ages here, and
I it felt home from the moment I stepped on
the field. It really did, because it's like, no matter
what happens in life. I have a home in football.
Were people shocked when you told them you played football professionally? Absolutely?
What were some of the reactions you got? From my standpoint,
(04:53):
most was fear, don't you know, don't get broken? That
was And then they when they found out I was
running back an a linebacker, was like, oh, you're gonna
get hurt. Luckily enough, I only I did get hurt
one time. But I played sixteen years with basically only
one injury. That's crazy, that is crazy. What about you?
I think the shock factor was, oh, powder puff? You
(05:14):
know that? That was always the next follow up question,
and it's like, no full tackle, you know, come and
see are you guys good? Come and check us out,
you know. Um. And just to go back to Brick,
she she's being very modest time that she stepped on
the football field. She was just a ridiculous athlete. I mean,
just unstoppable. I mean to be referenced online as one
(05:38):
of the best all around players that the league has
ever seen. That is very true. I would say that
she's been very humble over there. So I can brack
for her. I call myself her older sister, so I'll
do the break where I learned everything. I know exactly
exactly what were some of the challenges that came with
(05:59):
I guess going through a full tackle sport and going
maybe you didn't grow up football fans, maybe you did,
but learning all of these new rules, having to learn
a whole new game, and also kind of dealing with
a little bit of discrimination of that women aren't supposed
to play football and they aren't supposed to do these
(06:20):
types of physical, full on activities. I think the biggest challenge,
um is exactly what you said. You know, most women
are the nurturers for their household. Um, you know, so
you find that every woman that plays tackle football also
has a regular full time job, and they're also trying
to manage home. They're trying to manage kids, they're trying
(06:40):
to manage you know, their spouses, um, you know, and
there's no money there. So you know, we definitely were
not playing for the money. We were playing for the
love of the game. And I think the challenge came
in with that, you know, just the financial part. And
you know, as brick reference, you know, don't get hurt,
you know, because if someone's getting hurt, well, now who's
taking care of my children at home because I'm the
(07:00):
breadwinner or you know, I'm the working mom, you know,
and if I get hurt, then who's taking care of
my children? So I think that was probably the most
challenging part of playing football. And then also the financial part.
You know, we basically paid to play, you know, and
that and that that's always sucked because not everyone can
afford that luxury, you know, to to have the finances
(07:22):
to be able to participate in the sport for the season.
And like you said, it's taking a huge chunkier time.
So you're working a full time job, then have this,
you then have home life. It's it's a lot. What
about you, Mia same? I would say for me, you know,
I had to make some tough choices, probably at the
height of my football playing career. And remember we started
(07:44):
late in life, so we didn't have the opportunities to
play when we were in middle school and high school,
so we started late. And then you're developing your career
at the same time you're competing for a national championship,
and at some point you have to make a decision.
A lot of people have to choose their career and
(08:04):
their families over football, and I applaud the women that
are still playing now. I was in Kenton this weekend
and the Women's Football Championship just played in the Hall
of Fame Stadium and they are they're just representing the
league so well. But I just couldn't do it anymore.
And you know, no, no, no regrets. But it is
(08:24):
a tough decision to make, right And I think stepping
away from something not only that you're really good at,
but as we were all talking earlier, kind of fuels
that fire in you and really fulfills that purpose. Almost
that's that's so hard to walk away from, Like how
do you even do that? But what were some of
the best memories that you have from your playing days?
(08:48):
I know, me as one gold medal, so there's probably
a lot to count over there, But what about you,
Dr Edwards? I think, Um, mainly my biggest accomplishment in football,
I think was starting my own team. Um, you know,
got a little taxing driving two and a half hours
to and fro practice, you know, from New Jersey to
to Philly, and so I started my own team and
(09:11):
we ended up winning the championship in two thousand and twelve. Um,
and then I exited on top, you know, and again
very very tough decision to make, you know, but I
wanted to start a family, you know, and not getting
any younger, um you know, and people still call and say, hey, listen,
you know, can we start them back up? But it
it really is a time commitment, you know, and we
(09:31):
don't really do anything halfway, um, you know, so I
I know what it takes, um, you know, and it
just I just didn't have the manpower to continue, you know,
to be able to round up the girls, to to
try to help them out with the financial situation. Um.
You know. It was just it was just tough and
it was it was very tough to walk away. Um.
(09:52):
But as you know, Brick said, no regrets to have
a little you know, daughter to to speak for my
walking away, thank you. Yeah. So so she makes it
all worthwhile. You touched on starting your own team. I'm
going to come back to that. Don't think you just
dropped that, not away with it, but me, what was
your best memory from your playing days? There's a lot, um.
(10:14):
I think when I went to Sweden to play for
a team USA and the first time we played in
the national anthem was playing for some reason, I just
got overcome with the motion that I'm doing something that
I never thought, I never dreamed of, right, and I'm
(10:36):
overseas playing for my country. It was just so overwhelming.
But that moment I remember just because it was so
powerful and it gave me hope that the generations coming
behind me are going to have this opportunity as long
as you know, we keep carrying the banner for for
for women's football, whether it's flag or tackle. Uh, you
hope that you know our daughter is actually will one
(10:58):
day be able to play. Yeah, I mean it's a
exactly what you are doing by helping coach in the
league and everything. But that gave me a little bit
of chills. That was really special. But okay, so Dr Edwards,
you started your own team? Was the whole reason you
started your own team? Because you hated that drive? Or
was it? Was there another reason? I think it's too
fold because I know we had some great athletes in
(11:18):
New Jersey, you know, and some of my friends you know,
I would try to get them to come and play
for frilling. They're like, oh, I'm not it's too it's
too far, it's too far. And so I said, okay,
I promise you we're going to start a team here.
So it took me three years to to get it
off of the ground. But once we got off of
the ground, I mean there was just no turning back.
How do you even go about that starting your own team,
(11:39):
recruiting my parents, my sisters, my nieces and nephews, the security,
you know, booth Um, you know it was. It was difficult, Um.
But I think when you have a passion um, you know,
for for something, it doesn't matter what the obstacles are
in front of you, You somehow are able to overcome
(11:59):
those obs of cos and get it done. Okay, So
the passion comes through a full circle moment this last
year when the a d at your school, at Hawthorne
High School came to you. First of all, I want
to know who leaked your past to him that you
were this phenomenal football player, because you told me you
didn't go You're not going around telling people, oh, yes,
(12:20):
I played professional football, like you're keeping that under the wraps.
So how did he find out about it? And what
did he say when he came to you asking to
be the coach? Yeah? I think what happened is I
have an article. So we recovered after we won the championship,
the Herald News covered us and they put it on
a plaque and and I have that hanging in my office.
So I think the principal came in to talk to
(12:40):
me about a student and he happened to glance over, um,
you know, and he started reading and he's like, wait
a minute, you played like tackle football. And that conversation
started in my office and then it led over to
the admin assistants in the main office, and then it
was like the talk of you know, you should coach,
you should coach, and then the kids started them in
and say are you coaching? Are you coaching? You know?
(13:02):
And I'm like, well, I'm not sure, you know, and yeah,
you know, and then break and I have have this
joke too because when we spoke. When I spoke to
the a D, one of my questions was did we
have any athletes, because honestly, god, I think if he
said no, I'm really not sure if I would have
been gung ho about you know. Um. But we have
(13:22):
one particular player who we call her like the goat
of a porthon in high school. Her name is Brianna Andreolie.
And when I started hearing the conversation about what she
can do and what type of athletes she is, and
I said, Okay, I think I think we can. I
think we can do this, you know, And the conversation,
you know, ensued with with with Brick and the rest
(13:44):
of history. What did she say to you that convinced you?
You're like, Okay, I guess, I guess we're doing this again,
getting the band back together. It didn't take much convinced me.
It's my other half is the one that you have
to convince. But I've I've always wanted to see if
I could coach, and I thought, what better opportunity, And
(14:07):
it's exactly what happened, And then I got hooked unfortinitly. Well,
so what was it? What was like the initial challenge
finding the team, putting everyone together, But then you also
had to teach some of these girls that maybe none
of them even knew how to play football, how to
play football? How did that even come into fruition? Well,
from my standpoint, the hardest thing was understanding the rules,
(14:33):
teaching the rules, and then sometimes even reminding the referees
of the rules. And I think there's so many moving
components when it comes to knowing the game that you
have to know every single detail, along with making sure
the right players in the game and looking ahead and
calling the place. It's just so many moving parts. It's
really hard, so involved. What about for you just just
(14:55):
to uh piggyback up what Brick said. Definitely, Um, it
was very challenging just learning the rules in itself. UM.
But I think the other challenging part for us, um
is that we had a team of twenty four girls,
but realistically we probably had about seven athletes, and so
(15:16):
it was very challenging for us to one be able
to encourage the ones who really aren't athletes. I mean,
we had some girls who never played a sport before
in their entire life, and here they are coming out
for uh, you know, a not so easy game to
to learn to know. So in terms of us having
the patients and the diligence to try to make sure
(15:36):
that everyone felt included, felt that they were just as
important as the next person, um, you know, and just
trying to really fill fill the gaps because we really
had about seven true athletes and the rest we were
just kind of teaching on on the fly. UM. I
think that's so crazy and Honestly, it speaks a lot
to the league and to you as coaches as well
(15:59):
that you had such enthusiasm from girls would never played
the game before. That is crazy that you had a
full roster twenty four people showed up and wanted to
participate in your league. Was that a little heartwarming when
it When it first off, the thing that struck me
was there's a bit of self doubt for me, am
(16:21):
I doing a good job? Do the girls? Do the
players enjoy it? And that feedback that we got back
from them just made made the whole difference. I mean,
the fact that they were begging to come to my
house for the end of the year pool party, like oh,
like they really they want to hang out with it
made it all worthwhile. That's so sweet. So the in review,
(16:44):
I guess you could look back on your first season
in the league, what would you say was the best
thing you remember? Like best memory? And maybe the problem
or the challenger hurdle that slowly got better with time,
because I know the first game it was tough because
the bus was late. Right now, this is like an
(17:05):
infinite story for for the girl's side football league. Not
only was the bus late, but we were actually starting
without our starting quarterback as well, and we were also
playing without Brianna Andrewlie, who we consider our goat of
football team because she had a pulled hamstring, um you know,
and she also runs track too. So I think the
(17:25):
challenging part was a lot of the athletes, you know,
play spring sports, so we had to work around their schedules.
We had to work around their work schedules, or sometimes
them come into practice and they're already exhausted and we
don't want to over tax them, especially with their spring sport.
So it was very challenging, and as Brooke said, there
was a lot of moving parts, um you know. And
(17:46):
and sometimes I think sometimes we lost some faith. I
know I did at times, and it's like what am
I doing? Like how did I get here? You know,
how are we going to get out of this? And
how are we going to move forward? Because we're truly competitors.
You know. I don't like to lose at all, and
I know Brick doesn't like to lose either, So you know,
sometimes my intensity can sometimes come across a little bit harsh,
(18:08):
you know, But at the end of the day, I
think the girls know that I genuinely care care about them,
you know, so even though I'm on them really hard,
I'm also patting them on the back when when they
do something great. Right right, What was your best memory
from the season, maya well, well, the surprise win of
Game one. Probably it was after all of the things,
I'm thinking there's no way, but then I just thought
(18:30):
of something else. Actually, there was a player that I
thought probably had no chance of even just getting on offense.
I coached offense, and uh, she worked hard, she had
some tough moments, but then she came back and at
the end of the season she got to play offense.
And looking back, that's the growth of the athletes. But
(18:50):
that's all the so the influence of a coach where
we want to take a kid that maybe didn't have
a chance and you give him a chance, and that
I think it's probably my my best moment. You touched
on this earlier briefly saying you kind of doubted yourself
as a coach. I think that is obviously as an athlete,
you are always hardest on yourself first and foremost. How
(19:12):
did you kind of get out of your own head
a little bit? Because I think if I was in
that in your shoes. I would have been really in
my own head on saying I'm not doing this right,
I'm not doing that right. Like, how did you get
past that and kind of understand that you were doing
a good job and you were helping these girls. The
funniest thing is I think I got I reached that
(19:34):
aha moment coaching when I heard feedback from the opposing
coaches and I saw how frustrated they were, and I
heard the true competitor. That's when I heard them yelling
at the sideline that we should slow down and we
should take our foot off. That's when I'm like, uh,
we're doing it right, right. Did you have a favorite
(19:57):
moment from the season. I think I think, Um, you know,
I think brick hit on the hit hit on the
head when we and I think we're talking about the
same player. But this is a player who came out
for the team probably three weeks into the season. Um.
And this was a player who you know needs a
little bit of nurturing and you know, has some things
(20:19):
going on going on at home. Um. But I thought
it was important to have her be on the team
so that she can develop her own sense of family. Um,
you know, And there were times where she struggled throughout
the season and you know, left practice and you know,
in tears, and we had to call her back and
just you know, getting her to hustle. And I do
have to share this because this is this is a
(20:40):
pet pee for both of us. You know, when when
I tell you to hustle or on the hop, I
expect you, expect you to actually respond. This player never
responded and it was like, Wow, what what am I
doing that I can't reach her? Number one? And number two?
How am I looking to the other players when I'm
telling you to hustle and you're still walking. So we
(21:01):
had a heart to heart, you know, um you know,
and turns out that sometimes she wanted to manage, another
time she wants to play. But as Brick said at
the end of the season, she was actually playing in
the championship game. Um, you know. And I think my
moment where it really touched my heart is that this
player actually wrote, um a heartfelt letter to all the
(21:22):
coaches about how, um, you know, what a great experience
for her it was, and that this is indeed her
family and that she will never forget the opportunity that
we gave her. Oh my gosh, that makes me like
kind of emotional. That's so sweet, and it's it's so
crazy because when you signed up for this and you
hopped into it, I'm sure from the jump you didn't
(21:43):
expect to have such an effect on young girls lives.
But when you look at this in retrospect, these are
going to be some memories that stay with them for
the rest of their lives and lessons that they learn
and take on with them for where ever their next
chapter four, Season three or year three of the league
(22:06):
coming up next spring. What do you hope that future holds,
not only for this league, but for all the girls
that participated in it. M that's a that's a tough question.
I'll start. I think just because I came from the
(22:27):
Hall of Fame, I toward the Hall of Fame, and
you saw what the NFL looked like in and it
looked nothing like you see today. So I think you
have to understand that sometimes it takes time and you
need to build. But knowing that you know our Hawthorn
team and the teams that come after are part of
(22:47):
those building blocks, You're going to be part of history.
And I think that's what the legacy that we want
to leave that you're doing something special, what about you?
Dr Edwards, I agree with that, UM, But if I
can at I would love to see more women a
part of you know, the coaching staff. I think we
were probably the only female UM offensive coordinator defensive coordinator. UM.
(23:11):
You know, we did see you know a few women
on the coaching staff, but they really were they weren't
calling plays, you know, they weren't really in charge of
the offense or the defense. And I think, you know,
in terms of making a statement with girls being put
on the map and you know, this is such a
great opportunity, UM, I would love to see more women,
you know, come to have it full circle where the
(23:33):
women are are coaching, you know, and we're kind of
outnumbering the men because that that's always understood, right We
always see the male coaches, but you really seldomly see
women coaches, especially in a sport like this. And so
I think to come full circle, I would love to
see more women being active in this role in terms
in terms of rolling out this initiative, UM, which which
(23:55):
which is a great initiative for the girls, it really is.
I always whenever I talk about this league to either
my family or friends that I have, I always say,
thank one, thank God that this league wasn't around. I
would have been even way more competitive than I already am.
So probably good that I kept some friends in high school,
but to like, what an incredible opportunity I would have
(24:17):
been all over this. I know we had like one
powder puff game like you kind of referenced earlier in
high school, and it was always around homecoming, but it
wasn't like a league where you got uniforms and cleats,
and just what an amazing experience. And especially to have
the two of you not only as coaches but as
role models to look up to. Man, I'm jealous of
(24:40):
these girls I should have been born later in life.
I'm having like a girl crush and over here. But
thank you both so much. I can't thank you for
what you're doing for this league and for the girls
in general, but also for coming onto the podcast, sharing
your story, being able to spread all of what this
(25:02):
league is doing and how progressive it is in women's
football and not in showing that it's not made just
for men it can be a women's sports. Absolutely, absolutely,
thank you so much for the invite. Of course, you
guys are welcome back anytime. And thank you to the
Jets organization for it takes effort, it takes money, and
(25:22):
we really appreciate that the organization willing to put it
forward because I guarantee that you're going to see dividends
if you keep investing in women. You always do, all right,
Thank you both so much, thank you, thank you,
Welcome into another episode of New Yorker. I'm your host,
Caroline Hendershot, and today I am joined by two incredible women.
I cannot wait to introduce you to Dr Simone Edwards
and Mia brick House, two coaches for the Hawthorne High
School Girls Flag Football League this past season, and you
guys lead Hawthorne High School to the championship in your
(00:27):
first year in the league. So incredible feats for both
of you. Thank you so much for coming. I'm so appreciative,
of course, of course. Okay, so before we dive fully
into the girls high School Flag Football League, I want
to get a little bit into each of your backgrounds,
because you guys are some of the most impressive women
I've read up on as of late, like the most
(00:49):
athletic and just continuing to expand all of these opportunities
for young girls and young women across the state of
New Jersey. Really, I guess so both of you you
were very accomplished college athletes. I want to start. I
wrote it all down because there's too many accolades to
just remember. So Mia, you played, you went to Villanova,
(01:11):
and you were very accomplished there. But then once you
graduated you played with the Philadelphia Liberty Bells of the
National Women's Football Association. Then you joined Massachusetts team and
played with them all the way untill you won two
gold medals with the U S national women's football team
and you were considered one of the best all around
players in women's football. Like, okay, that's casual. I just
(01:34):
didn't want to do something boring. I didn't want to
work the desk job. And Dr Edwards you too. You
went to Fairleigh Dickinson University of Madison. You were the
school's female athlete for three years in a row. Yes,
played basketball, volleyball, and softball, so not one but three sports.
Then you were two time All American. You played for
(01:55):
the Philadelphia Phoenix, and now you're a founder and owner
of the New Jersey Titans. Will Mean's football team. Like
you too, It just doesn't stop with the ball. We
keep pushing the envelope. So what made you both go
into football? Because obviously that wasn't a sport that was
offered in college for women. So how did you both
find it? You want to start? Sure? Sorry, I um,
(02:19):
I was accomplished, um, you know in basketball, and then
after I graduated, you know, as athletes. We want to
keep going and find something else on that level. So
my nephew actually read an article UM that they were
hosting tryouts in Philadelphia. And so I love football, you know,
grew up watching it, always playing in the streets like
the tomboy, you know, with with the neighbors. UM. And
(02:40):
he said, you know, why don't you go out for
the team, And I said, I think I'm going to.
So even though it was in Philadelphia, that was the
only team that was close to me at that time, UM,
And so I went out, you know, made the team.
That's where I met why I called her Brock. That's
where I met Brick. Um. You know, we we've been
family ever ever since. But I was really just looking
for something that was high level, UM, because that's what
(03:02):
I was just playing. Right. You were used to the
high level of athletics, and like Brick said earlier, you
can't give that up easily. So you have to find
the next level of it. How did you get into it?
Me a little different. I was actually in law school
and I hated it. I just the learning was great.
So for those yes, academics all the way, but I
(03:24):
just I needed an outlet and I found out that
someone in the athletic department played tackle football, and this
girl was a hundred and ten pounds, soaking wet like
dangly arms, and I thought, if she can play, I
definitely can play, and then I was hooked. From that point.
Was it intimidating for either of you to experiment in
(03:45):
a sport that typically completely only for guys and also
that you've never played before. I don't think so much
in regards to it being a guy's sport, But I
think when I went and I saw all these women
who were ginormous, but I think that was probably more
intimidating for me than just knowing that it was a
(04:07):
guy sport, you know. But but the the level of
intensity and just the you know, the excitement of it, um,
I think got me over the hurdle of being intimidated. Yeah,
when you first tried out and you first walked into
that tryout, what was your initial reaction. My initial reaction
was similar to docks, which is this is great that
(04:31):
you see all types of bodies and ages here, and
I it felt home from the moment I stepped on
the field. It really did, because it's like, no matter
what happens in life. I have a home in football.
Were people shocked when you told them you played football professionally? Absolutely?
What were some of the reactions you got? From my standpoint,
(04:53):
most was fear, don't you know, don't get broken? That
was And then they when they found out I was
running back an a linebacker, was like, oh, you're gonna
get hurt. Luckily enough, I only I did get hurt
one time. But I played sixteen years with basically only
one injury. That's crazy, that is crazy. What about you?
I think the shock factor was, oh, powder puff? You
(05:14):
know that? That was always the next follow up question,
and it's like, no full tackle, you know, come and
see are you guys good? Come and check us out,
you know. Um. And just to go back to Brick,
she she's being very modest time that she stepped on
the football field. She was just a ridiculous athlete. I mean,
just unstoppable. I mean to be referenced online as one
(05:38):
of the best all around players that the league has
ever seen. That is very true. I would say that
she's been very humble over there. So I can brack
for her. I call myself her older sister, so I'll
do the break where I learned everything. I know exactly
exactly what were some of the challenges that came with
(05:59):
I guess going through a full tackle sport and going
maybe you didn't grow up football fans, maybe you did,
but learning all of these new rules, having to learn
a whole new game, and also kind of dealing with
a little bit of discrimination of that women aren't supposed
to play football and they aren't supposed to do these
(06:20):
types of physical, full on activities. I think the biggest challenge,
um is exactly what you said. You know, most women
are the nurturers for their household. Um, you know, so
you find that every woman that plays tackle football also
has a regular full time job, and they're also trying
to manage home. They're trying to manage kids, they're trying
(06:40):
to manage you know, their spouses, um, you know, and
there's no money there. So you know, we definitely were
not playing for the money. We were playing for the
love of the game. And I think the challenge came
in with that, you know, just the financial part. And
you know, as brick reference, you know, don't get hurt,
you know, because if someone's getting hurt, well, now who's
taking care of my children at home because I'm the
(07:00):
breadwinner or you know, I'm the working mom, you know,
and if I get hurt, then who's taking care of
my children? So I think that was probably the most
challenging part of playing football. And then also the financial part.
You know, we basically paid to play, you know, and
that and that that's always sucked because not everyone can
afford that luxury, you know, to to have the finances
(07:22):
to be able to participate in the sport for the season.
And like you said, it's taking a huge chunkier time.
So you're working a full time job, then have this,
you then have home life. It's it's a lot. What
about you, Mia same? I would say for me, you know,
I had to make some tough choices, probably at the
height of my football playing career. And remember we started
(07:44):
late in life, so we didn't have the opportunities to
play when we were in middle school and high school,
so we started late. And then you're developing your career
at the same time you're competing for a national championship,
and at some point you have to make a decision.
A lot of people have to choose their career and
(08:04):
their families over football, and I applaud the women that
are still playing now. I was in Kenton this weekend
and the Women's Football Championship just played in the Hall
of Fame Stadium and they are they're just representing the
league so well. But I just couldn't do it anymore.
And you know, no, no, no regrets. But it is
(08:24):
a tough decision to make, right And I think stepping
away from something not only that you're really good at,
but as we were all talking earlier, kind of fuels
that fire in you and really fulfills that purpose. Almost
that's that's so hard to walk away from, Like how
do you even do that? But what were some of
the best memories that you have from your playing days?
(08:48):
I know, me as one gold medal, so there's probably
a lot to count over there, But what about you,
Dr Edwards? I think, Um, mainly my biggest accomplishment in football,
I think was starting my own team. Um, you know,
got a little taxing driving two and a half hours
to and fro practice, you know, from New Jersey to
to Philly, and so I started my own team and
(09:11):
we ended up winning the championship in two thousand and twelve. Um,
and then I exited on top, you know, and again
very very tough decision to make, you know, but I
wanted to start a family, you know, and not getting
any younger, um you know, and people still call and say, hey, listen,
you know, can we start them back up? But it
it really is a time commitment, you know, and we
(09:31):
don't really do anything halfway, um, you know, so I
I know what it takes, um, you know, and it
just I just didn't have the manpower to continue, you know,
to be able to round up the girls, to to
try to help them out with the financial situation. Um.
You know. It was just it was just tough and
it was it was very tough to walk away. Um.
(09:52):
But as you know, Brick said, no regrets to have
a little you know, daughter to to speak for my
walking away, thank you. Yeah. So so she makes it
all worthwhile. You touched on starting your own team. I'm
going to come back to that. Don't think you just
dropped that, not away with it, but me, what was
your best memory from your playing days? There's a lot, um.
(10:14):
I think when I went to Sweden to play for
a team USA and the first time we played in
the national anthem was playing for some reason, I just
got overcome with the motion that I'm doing something that
I never thought, I never dreamed of, right, and I'm
(10:36):
overseas playing for my country. It was just so overwhelming.
But that moment I remember just because it was so
powerful and it gave me hope that the generations coming
behind me are going to have this opportunity as long
as you know, we keep carrying the banner for for
for women's football, whether it's flag or tackle. Uh, you
hope that you know our daughter is actually will one
(10:58):
day be able to play. Yeah, I mean it's a
exactly what you are doing by helping coach in the
league and everything. But that gave me a little bit
of chills. That was really special. But okay, so Dr Edwards,
you started your own team? Was the whole reason you
started your own team? Because you hated that drive? Or
was it? Was there another reason? I think it's too
fold because I know we had some great athletes in
(11:18):
New Jersey, you know, and some of my friends you know,
I would try to get them to come and play
for frilling. They're like, oh, I'm not it's too it's
too far, it's too far. And so I said, okay,
I promise you we're going to start a team here.
So it took me three years to to get it
off of the ground. But once we got off of
the ground, I mean there was just no turning back.
How do you even go about that starting your own team,
(11:39):
recruiting my parents, my sisters, my nieces and nephews, the security,
you know, booth Um, you know it was. It was difficult, Um.
But I think when you have a passion um, you know,
for for something, it doesn't matter what the obstacles are
in front of you, You somehow are able to overcome
(11:59):
those obs of cos and get it done. Okay, So
the passion comes through a full circle moment this last
year when the a d at your school, at Hawthorne
High School came to you. First of all, I want
to know who leaked your past to him that you
were this phenomenal football player, because you told me you
didn't go You're not going around telling people, oh, yes,
(12:20):
I played professional football, like you're keeping that under the wraps.
So how did he find out about it? And what
did he say when he came to you asking to
be the coach? Yeah? I think what happened is I
have an article. So we recovered after we won the championship,
the Herald News covered us and they put it on
a plaque and and I have that hanging in my office.
So I think the principal came in to talk to
(12:40):
me about a student and he happened to glance over, um,
you know, and he started reading and he's like, wait
a minute, you played like tackle football. And that conversation
started in my office and then it led over to
the admin assistants in the main office, and then it
was like the talk of you know, you should coach,
you should coach, and then the kids started them in
and say are you coaching? Are you coaching? You know?
(13:02):
And I'm like, well, I'm not sure, you know, and yeah,
you know, and then break and I have have this
joke too because when we spoke. When I spoke to
the a D, one of my questions was did we
have any athletes, because honestly, god, I think if he
said no, I'm really not sure if I would have
been gung ho about you know. Um. But we have
(13:22):
one particular player who we call her like the goat
of a porthon in high school. Her name is Brianna Andreolie.
And when I started hearing the conversation about what she
can do and what type of athletes she is, and
I said, Okay, I think I think we can. I
think we can do this, you know, And the conversation,
you know, ensued with with with Brick and the rest
(13:44):
of history. What did she say to you that convinced you?
You're like, Okay, I guess, I guess we're doing this again,
getting the band back together. It didn't take much convinced me.
It's my other half is the one that you have
to convince. But I've I've always wanted to see if
I could coach, and I thought, what better opportunity, And
(14:07):
it's exactly what happened, And then I got hooked unfortinitly. Well,
so what was it? What was like the initial challenge
finding the team, putting everyone together, But then you also
had to teach some of these girls that maybe none
of them even knew how to play football, how to
play football? How did that even come into fruition? Well,
from my standpoint, the hardest thing was understanding the rules,
(14:33):
teaching the rules, and then sometimes even reminding the referees
of the rules. And I think there's so many moving
components when it comes to knowing the game that you
have to know every single detail, along with making sure
the right players in the game and looking ahead and
calling the place. It's just so many moving parts. It's
really hard, so involved. What about for you just just
(14:55):
to uh piggyback up what Brick said. Definitely, Um, it
was very challenging just learning the rules in itself. UM.
But I think the other challenging part for us, um
is that we had a team of twenty four girls,
but realistically we probably had about seven athletes, and so
(15:16):
it was very challenging for us to one be able
to encourage the ones who really aren't athletes. I mean,
we had some girls who never played a sport before
in their entire life, and here they are coming out
for uh, you know, a not so easy game to
to learn to know. So in terms of us having
the patients and the diligence to try to make sure
(15:36):
that everyone felt included, felt that they were just as
important as the next person, um, you know, and just
trying to really fill fill the gaps because we really
had about seven true athletes and the rest we were
just kind of teaching on on the fly. UM. I
think that's so crazy and Honestly, it speaks a lot
to the league and to you as coaches as well
(15:59):
that you had such enthusiasm from girls would never played
the game before. That is crazy that you had a
full roster twenty four people showed up and wanted to
participate in your league. Was that a little heartwarming when
it When it first off, the thing that struck me
was there's a bit of self doubt for me, am
(16:21):
I doing a good job? Do the girls? Do the
players enjoy it? And that feedback that we got back
from them just made made the whole difference. I mean,
the fact that they were begging to come to my
house for the end of the year pool party, like oh,
like they really they want to hang out with it
made it all worthwhile. That's so sweet. So the in review,
(16:44):
I guess you could look back on your first season
in the league, what would you say was the best
thing you remember? Like best memory? And maybe the problem
or the challenger hurdle that slowly got better with time,
because I know the first game it was tough because
the bus was late. Right now, this is like an
(17:05):
infinite story for for the girl's side football league. Not
only was the bus late, but we were actually starting
without our starting quarterback as well, and we were also
playing without Brianna Andrewlie, who we consider our goat of
football team because she had a pulled hamstring, um you know,
and she also runs track too. So I think the
(17:25):
challenging part was a lot of the athletes, you know,
play spring sports, so we had to work around their schedules.
We had to work around their work schedules, or sometimes
them come into practice and they're already exhausted and we
don't want to over tax them, especially with their spring sport.
So it was very challenging, and as Brooke said, there
was a lot of moving parts, um you know. And
(17:46):
and sometimes I think sometimes we lost some faith. I
know I did at times, and it's like what am
I doing? Like how did I get here? You know,
how are we going to get out of this? And
how are we going to move forward? Because we're truly competitors.
You know. I don't like to lose at all, and
I know Brick doesn't like to lose either, So you know,
sometimes my intensity can sometimes come across a little bit harsh,
(18:08):
you know, But at the end of the day, I
think the girls know that I genuinely care care about them,
you know, so even though I'm on them really hard,
I'm also patting them on the back when when they
do something great. Right right, What was your best memory
from the season, maya well, well, the surprise win of
Game one. Probably it was after all of the things,
I'm thinking there's no way, but then I just thought
(18:30):
of something else. Actually, there was a player that I
thought probably had no chance of even just getting on offense.
I coached offense, and uh, she worked hard, she had
some tough moments, but then she came back and at
the end of the season she got to play offense.
And looking back, that's the growth of the athletes. But
(18:50):
that's all the so the influence of a coach where
we want to take a kid that maybe didn't have
a chance and you give him a chance, and that
I think it's probably my my best moment. You touched
on this earlier briefly saying you kind of doubted yourself
as a coach. I think that is obviously as an athlete,
you are always hardest on yourself first and foremost. How
(19:12):
did you kind of get out of your own head
a little bit? Because I think if I was in
that in your shoes. I would have been really in
my own head on saying I'm not doing this right,
I'm not doing that right. Like, how did you get
past that and kind of understand that you were doing
a good job and you were helping these girls. The
funniest thing is I think I got I reached that
(19:34):
aha moment coaching when I heard feedback from the opposing
coaches and I saw how frustrated they were, and I
heard the true competitor. That's when I heard them yelling
at the sideline that we should slow down and we
should take our foot off. That's when I'm like, uh,
we're doing it right, right. Did you have a favorite
(19:57):
moment from the season. I think I think, Um, you know,
I think brick hit on the hit hit on the
head when we and I think we're talking about the
same player. But this is a player who came out
for the team probably three weeks into the season. Um.
And this was a player who you know needs a
little bit of nurturing and you know, has some things
(20:19):
going on going on at home. Um. But I thought
it was important to have her be on the team
so that she can develop her own sense of family. Um,
you know, And there were times where she struggled throughout
the season and you know, left practice and you know,
in tears, and we had to call her back and
just you know, getting her to hustle. And I do
have to share this because this is this is a
(20:40):
pet pee for both of us. You know, when when
I tell you to hustle or on the hop, I
expect you, expect you to actually respond. This player never
responded and it was like, Wow, what what am I
doing that I can't reach her? Number one? And number two?
How am I looking to the other players when I'm
telling you to hustle and you're still walking. So we
(21:01):
had a heart to heart, you know, um you know,
and turns out that sometimes she wanted to manage, another
time she wants to play. But as Brick said at
the end of the season, she was actually playing in
the championship game. Um, you know. And I think my
moment where it really touched my heart is that this
player actually wrote, um a heartfelt letter to all the
(21:22):
coaches about how, um, you know, what a great experience
for her it was, and that this is indeed her
family and that she will never forget the opportunity that
we gave her. Oh my gosh, that makes me like
kind of emotional. That's so sweet, and it's it's so
crazy because when you signed up for this and you
hopped into it, I'm sure from the jump you didn't
(21:43):
expect to have such an effect on young girls lives.
But when you look at this in retrospect, these are
going to be some memories that stay with them for
the rest of their lives and lessons that they learn
and take on with them for where ever their next
chapter four, Season three or year three of the league
(22:06):
coming up next spring. What do you hope that future holds,
not only for this league, but for all the girls
that participated in it. M that's a that's a tough question.
I'll start. I think just because I came from the
(22:27):
Hall of Fame, I toward the Hall of Fame, and
you saw what the NFL looked like in and it
looked nothing like you see today. So I think you
have to understand that sometimes it takes time and you
need to build. But knowing that you know our Hawthorn
team and the teams that come after are part of
(22:47):
those building blocks, You're going to be part of history.
And I think that's what the legacy that we want
to leave that you're doing something special, what about you?
Dr Edwards, I agree with that, UM, But if I
can at I would love to see more women a
part of you know, the coaching staff. I think we
were probably the only female UM offensive coordinator defensive coordinator. UM.
(23:11):
You know, we did see you know a few women
on the coaching staff, but they really were they weren't
calling plays, you know, they weren't really in charge of
the offense or the defense. And I think, you know,
in terms of making a statement with girls being put
on the map and you know, this is such a
great opportunity, UM, I would love to see more women,
you know, come to have it full circle where the
(23:33):
women are are coaching, you know, and we're kind of
outnumbering the men because that that's always understood, right We
always see the male coaches, but you really seldomly see
women coaches, especially in a sport like this. And so
I think to come full circle, I would love to
see more women being active in this role in terms
in terms of rolling out this initiative, UM, which which
(23:55):
which is a great initiative for the girls, it really is.
I always whenever I talk about this league to either
my family or friends that I have, I always say,
thank one, thank God that this league wasn't around. I
would have been even way more competitive than I already am.
So probably good that I kept some friends in high school,
but to like, what an incredible opportunity I would have
(24:17):
been all over this. I know we had like one
powder puff game like you kind of referenced earlier in
high school, and it was always around homecoming, but it
wasn't like a league where you got uniforms and cleats,
and just what an amazing experience. And especially to have
the two of you not only as coaches but as
role models to look up to. Man, I'm jealous of
(24:40):
these girls I should have been born later in life.
I'm having like a girl crush and over here. But
thank you both so much. I can't thank you for
what you're doing for this league and for the girls
in general, but also for coming onto the podcast, sharing
your story, being able to spread all of what this
(25:02):
league is doing and how progressive it is in women's
football and not in showing that it's not made just
for men it can be a women's sports. Absolutely, absolutely,
thank you so much for the invite. Of course, you
guys are welcome back anytime. And thank you to the
Jets organization for it takes effort, it takes money, and
(25:22):
we really appreciate that the organization willing to put it
forward because I guarantee that you're going to see dividends
if you keep investing in women. You always do, all right,
Thank you both so much, thank you, thank you,
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