Why would a female join a traditionally male sport? I’m about to tell you. IHS is unique because of how accepting our school is and supportive decisions students make.  You would never think that a female would want to join tackle football because of how rough it is, but you’re wrong. 

Sophomore Bre Doucet could tell you all about her experience on the tackle football team. I asked her a couple of questions to get a better understanding of what her experience is like and how it feels to be the only female in a male-dominated sport.

Doucet has been playing tackle football since eighth grade, and before that, she played two years of flag football. She also mentioned to me that she does track in the winter and spring as well. Bre enjoys playing sports and always has been a fan of them since she was a kid. 

“With my genetics and build, pretty much, football has suited me as a sport that I’ve always loved to do. I didn’t see a reason not to play,” Bre said. 

I really admire that Bre doesn’t see it as weird that she plays on a male sports team; I really like her confidence and determination for football. 

“Everyone treats me the same; nobody sees me as a girl and they just see me as part of the team,” she said. 

Bre doesn’t plan on pursuing her football career in college; she wants to keep up with her track record because she doesn’t see herself participating in college football. 

I asked Bre what advice she would give to a girl who wanted to participate in a male dominated sport.  Here is what she shared: “If the people see you on the team trying, they’re going to respect you and nobody will look at you weird. A lot of people that I know think it’s a pretty cool thing.”  

After my interview with Bre, I interviewed our athletic director, Tom Gallagher, to get an idea of Ipswich’s history of having females play on traditional male sports teams. Gallagher has been a director at Ipswich for twenty years, but it is his 33 year of being an athletic director overall. He explained:  “We’ve had girls who’ve been on boys’ golf teams and other football players, but we’ve never had a male field hockey player.”   He explained that our school has nothing to do with whether or not a female or male can play on an opposite gender team; it’s a state policy.  When asked about concerns, he said: “I don’t have a lot of concerns; it depends on the sport size and strength, which can be a concern. I know that we have a female football player and we had a four-year female football player not too long ago.” Gallagher added: “One thing I admire about our school is how accepting we are and how non-judgmental our players are too.” 

I think after my interviews with Mr. Gallagher and Bre Doucet, I have a better understanding of what it feels like to be a student blazing a unique path.  I am just glad that our society is understanding and accepting. Best of luck Bre!