Two girls set out with a plan. At the beginning of the summer, they decided they wanted to do something new, something unique. So naturally, they signed up for football.

“I feel like people may think that it’s awkward because we’re just girls, but it feels  normal,” Muturi said. “I wouldn’t say it feels like we’re guys, but it just feels like we’re part of the team.”

Virginia Muturi ‘19 and Angel Sila ‘19 joined the football team this season. Football is a sport that has long been known as a male sport, but this year they are breaking this stereotype.

Muturi has some football background, playing through junior high. Her friend Sila was curious about the predominantly male sport.

“I’ve never played football,” Sila said. “I didn’t really know much when I started. I was kind of lost, but I think the more I played, the more I got used to it.”

Muturi had thought about sports that had a relatively set gender, like volleyball or football, and wondered why integration was so unheard of.

“I’ve always been different than a lot of females,” Muturi said. “But it made me feel like I was representing a lot of the females because it looked like a fun game. I didn’t know anything about it, so it helped me to get to know more what football was.”

The two have been received fairly well by the team and coaches. There was some initial fear that adding females players to the team could prove to be an adjustment because it wasn’t a common occurrence at City High. However, this was not the case. By the end of the season, it was natural. They felt like part of the team.

“They are just another two players on the team, we don’t look at them differently,” teammate Liam McComas ‘19 said. “Coach Moore and Coach Brown do their best to treat them exactly like the boys; I don’t see a difference at all.”

Critics of mixing the team insist it throws off team balance. People may believe that female players can be distracting to male players, that they aren’t as strong, or that they can’t take the hits.

“I don’t have a problem with [girls going out for football],” McComas said. “It’s just if you are going to go out, give 100% and show just because you’re a girl it doesn’t matter if you play football.”