Jen Welter grew up in Florida where, like in Texas where she is now, football is akin to a religion. Having always loved the game, she didn’t have the opportunity to play it until after college. After playing rugby during all four years at Boston College, she began playing flag football. When women’s pro tackle football was starting, the manager of the league called her Flag Football league and asked if there were any girls who could play tackle. The manager of the flag league gave them her name and she’s been playing ever since. What is your fitness regimen to stay game ready? At this point in my career, there really is no day off. You have to constantly work to get better at the football part. I played linebacker for 13 years, so playing running back is brand new to me. For 13 years, I had to put a lot of work in because I am under-sized. I was so small on the 2010 US Nationals team that they called me ‘kid’ because I looked like a little kid running around with all the adults. It’s not really that different for me to be so tiny in the men’s game because I was tiny in the women’s game. In order to compensate for that, I’ve been designing my bootcamp workouts that are based in the fundamentals of football. Like ladders, over-unders and changing directions. This way, when I was teaching the class for everyone else, I was also doing what I needed to be better at football. 42 GAME CHANGER
You take some serious hits during the game. They were keying in on me so hard, and to be honest, as a defender, I would have keyed in on me too. I would have plastered me into next week. So it doesn’t surprise me that I came at me hard. I would hope that any defender would key on me and that is what opened up a fake to be a touchdown. That’s the beautiful thing about football, it’s not about me scoring a touchdown. It’s about us winning a game and if me being in there allows the opportunity for one of my teammates to score, then we’ve done a great job. How do you take to being called “The Woman Player?” You know, I’m honored to be “the female running back.” I can’t express to you enough how awesome the guys on my team have been. Maybe if they were less proud, then I would have a problem with it. When I have guys like Clinton Solomon who’s one of the best receivers in the IFL, and an outstanding guy, pulling me aside to meet his mom, those are things that mean a lot because it means a lot to women. If I can inspire little girls and women by stepping on the field with the boys, then I couldn’t be more honored to do so. Now in terms of the locker room and being one of the guys, they treat me like one of the guys. Being one of the guys is respecting me as a teammate giving me licks in practice so I’ll be ready. I have to work like the boys but they’re still proud to have a girl and the guys have really taken ownership of having me on their team. They’re proud to have me and I’m really proud to be the girl.