Freshman Selena Johnson is not a typical football player. While she works hard and plays like everyone else, under the helmet, she is a girl.

According to Johnson, she joined the football program after the season began. Johnson said after she took a break from playing in seventh and eighth grade, she remembered what she loved about football.

“(I like playing) defensive line. I just like tackling, it is fun,” Johnson said.

Park varsity head coach Ben Wolfe said Johnson’s previous experience helped her with the transition to the high school team and becoming comfortable with her teammates.

“She played with a lot of these guys in the freshmen class when she was younger so I don’t think it is a completely new thing for a lot of them. I think overall, (her teammates) have been pretty accepting,” Wolfe said.

Freshmen head coach Arsenio Richardson said Johnson has adjusted well to the team.  

“She is doing well. This is her second week. She is working hard (and) getting acclimated pretty easily,” Richardson said.

According to Richardson, although it is not typical to have a girl on the team, he believes Johnson joined the program with a genuine purpose.

“She is out there for the right reasons — to play football because she enjoys it. We just look at her like one of the other football players,” Richardson said.

Johnson said that while there are challenges to playing in a predominately male sport, she hopes to prove she can play football as well as any male.

“Boys think that girls aren’t as tough as boys. They don’t think you are strong enough to be in such a rough sport, but honestly girls can do what boys can do too,” Johnson said.

Wolfe said he is excited to have Johnson on the team and admires her for joining the football program.

“I give her a lot of credit for coming out and giving it a chance. It isn’t an easy thing to do and I hope she sticks with it,” Wolfe said.

Johnson said other girls do not realize that football is not just a sport for boys. She believes more girls should play despite a general disadvantage in size and strength.

“I think the main setback was that since I stopped for two years, my strength isn’t up to where the boys are at. But that is fine, I will just keep working harder to get up to that strength,” Johnson said.

Wolfe said the coaching staff looks forward to seeing Johnson on the field.

“When she came out, I thought it was a great idea,” Wolfe said. “We are excited to have her.”