Football players, at any level, come in all shapes and sizes. The only thing that’s really uniform about a football team is the uniform itself. You look on the field and on the sideline and you see players that fit the mold of a quarterback, wide receiver, running back, linebacker or lineman.  

In the case of my son Bradley’s football team, the East Meadow Rams mirror just about any other football team. This group of 11- and 12-year-old kids on Long Island show up for practice twice a week wearing their white practice jerseys. On Sundays, they all slip on their really cool red, white and blue game jerseys just like they did this past weekend for their 28-19 win over Hempstead. 

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Every child on Bradley’s team shares the common bond of being a football player and being part of a close-knit group of teammates and coaches that make up a football family. I continue to use the words “kid” or “child” instead of “boys” because there is one significant aspect of the Rams that might be different from many other teams, although the needle on the meter continues to move in the direction of how Bradley’s team looks.

There is a girl on the team, and that’s a good thing, as it’s becoming more of the norm in youth football.

This is actually the second time Bradley has had a female player on his team. It’s becoming more commonplace, not just in tackle football, but also in flag football. My younger son, Jared, plays flag football, and there are two girls on his team. There can be anywhere from six to eight flag football games going on at the same time and there is a plethora of girls who enjoy playing the game.

That really shouldn’t come as a surprise because of just how popular football is with girls. In the case of Bradley’s teammate, Catie, she really loves football, and that’s quite evident when you see the passion she displays for the sport when she’s on the field.  She’s in seventh grade now and has grown up watching football with her very supportive parents, and she’s now one of many girls all over the country who play tackle and flag football. 

In fact, Catie, an avid New York Giants fan, just doesn’t play for the Rams. She also plays for her middle school team as well as on a flag football team. Catie is part of a growing fraternity of girls who continue to break barriers in a sport that, let’s face it, has been male-dominated for many years. Not only are there now women’s professional football leagues across the country, but there are also women who hold meaningful positions within the NFL and its member teams. 

Every young football player draws inspiration from somewhere. In the case of Bradley, he plays center because his cousin Stephen played center and he wears No. 74 because former Jets center Nick Mangold was his favorite player. But today, there are inspiring role models for girls who aspire to play football, too. 

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Young girls like Catie can draw inspiration from professional players like Jen Welter, who became the first female NFL coach when she was with the Arizona Cardinals last summer, or Collette Smith, a former player for the New York Sharks professional women’s team who was a coaching intern for the New York Jets this past training camp.  Veteran play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins has also provided inspiration for women who want to get into broadcasting by calling a Monday Night Football game for ESPN this year and is also doing NFL games for CBS.

When No. 22 races onto the field for the East Meadow Rams, there’s no extra fanfare or anything like that. Kids come on and off the field many times during the course of a game. The uniform and equipment that Catie wears is identical to her teammates. The only real difference is the long hair that is visible through the back of the helmet, but the bottom line is that Catie is a football player and her teammates treat her like one of the guys.

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I was actually pretty angry when Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton recently mocked a female reporter for asking him a question about players running routes. It’s 2017, and everyone needs to realize that lots of women love football. Some guys may not be able to handle that, but I think it’s absolutely awesome that my wife loves football and I’ll put her knowledge of the sport up against many male friends of mine.

Perhaps Catie, who has played a number of different positions, can teach all of us a thing or two about running routes. She’s passionate about the game and works hard in practice to get better. 

Maybe Kenny Chesney needs to update his song with a new title “Boys and Girls of Fall”.

Peter Schwartz is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network and WCBS 880 Radio in New York. His older son, Bradley, plays youth football for the East Meadow Rams on Long Island, and his younger son, Jared, plays flag football for the LSW Giants. Peter, his wife, Sheryl, and the boys are busy cheering on the New York Jets when they’re not at a youth football field.