Warrior Women

Warrior Meet eight women who have found exercise, confidence and friendship in the athletic activities they love.

BY LOYD MCINTOSH PHOTOS BY CARY NORTON

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T

he men on th the gridiron are not the only athletes shedding

blood, sweat and tears on the playing field this fall. October is breast cancer awareness month—and that mak makes autumn the perfect time to celebrate the female athletes who compete for the good of both thei their bodies and their souls. Read the stories of a handful of Birmingham ngham women who wh empower themselves and inspire others with their grit, desire and determination—for d determination— the glory of winning, the team camaraderie or the challenge ge of overcoming mental m and physical obstacles.

Leigh Marsh, runner

Because she’s always sporting a smile and positive attitude, you may never guess that Pell City resident Leigh Marsh’s life has had its ups and downs. Shortly after her family moved to Pell City when she was a child, Marsh was hit by a car, an accident that she says likely caused her to develop scoliosis.

In 1996, her husband died in a car wreck, leaving her with two small children to care for at age 26.

Three years ago, a friend talked her into training for and running a 5K. Marsh jumped in headfirst, despite having no sports background to draw from. “My dad was a high school football, basketball and track coach all my life, and I didn’t do any sports, I guess just to be the opposite of him. That was my rebellious side,” she says.

Marsh ran her first race, a 5K, in January 2007. “About mile two-and-half I was like, ‘Please God, just get me to the finish line.

That’s all I want,’” she admits. “After I finished I was all excited, and I thought ‘I like this. I’m going to do this every month.’”

Since then, Marsh has not taken running to levels she never imagined, competing in 11 half-marathons and a marathon, weeks before her 40th birthday. Marsh has become an encourager, often convincing others to run with her and even willingly coming in last place in order to run with a newcomer.

“I never thought that I would ever want to run a marathon. If you just get out there and try, you can do it if you want to,” she adds. “As long as you finish, everybody is still proud of you.”

Dixie Thrash, roller derby In the newly revitalized sport of roller derby, a funky group of the city’s toughest broads, known as the Tragic City Rollers, has spent the last six years slinging elbows and breaking bones to the delight of their hardcore fans.

The heart of the team is a chick called Dixie Thrash, not-so-mild mannered Joe Muggs employee by day, roller derby queen by night.

A Northport native, Thrash’s formative years were, let’s just say, colorful. Her mother was competitive in archery and a professional pool player, and her grandfather was former LSU head football coach Curly Hallman.

Thrash grew up riding horses and ran track in high school. However, she discovered early in life that she was meant to live life on wheels.

“I come from a long line of family who everything they touch, they do well. Skating was the only thing that was mine that I could do,” she says.

Thrash stumbled into the sport almost by accident. After graduating from the University of Alabama, she saw her first roller derby match in fall 2006 while visiting a friend in Austin, the home of the modern roller scene.

Weeks later, Thrash met a woman on the Dixie Derby Girls in Huntsville. After a month practicing with the DDG, Thrash founded the Tragic City Rollers and, in the process, found herself.

“All I need is to hear that first whistle and to get one good hit in on that very first jam.

Once I do that, all those jitters and nerves are just gone and I don’t think about anything else,” Thrash says.

Because of the sport’s very physical reputation, Thrash is often asked why she does it. “Because it fits me,” she explains. “It’s like someone sitting down and explaining their philosophy, their religion, everything in their head. Everything about it works.

It works my body the way I want it to be worked, and it works my mind the way I want it to be worked.”

“All I need is to hear that first whistle and to get one good hit in on very first jam.”

“About mile two-and-half I was like, that Dixie Thrash ‘Please God, just get me to the finish line. That’s all I want.’” Leigh Marsh

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“This year is the big year, my senior year, and I want to get everything done.” Britney Lockhart Tamra Barron, competitive fitness model

Britney Lockhart, lacrosse Ramsay High School senior Britney Lockhart has made a name for herself among her peers and even several college lacrosse coaches, despite only coming to the sport two years ago. In fact, the East Lake resident admits she didn’t know anything about the sport prior to trying out for the newly established team during her sophomore year.

As a sophomore, Lockhart was on the volleyball team, and she played basketball and ran track as a kid. Ramsay Assistant Principal Yancy Williams convinced her to give lacrosse a shot, although Lockhart says she was reluctant at first. Now, she has developed into one of the best lacrosse players in the area.

Lockhart was named to the 2010 state AllStar team and is being recruited by several universities. She and her squad are also something of trailblazers, as the first female minority lacrosse team in the Southeast.

In all but one game during the 2010 season, Lockhart scored at least four goals. But her greatest memory, she says, was a game in which she scored seven goals, an incredible feat against some of the state’s best competition. “I was in the zone that day,” she says.

The 17-year-old’s aims—both personal and team-oriented—are high. After going winless in the team’s first year, 2009, the Lady Rams finished fourth in the state last year.

Lockhart says the team has a shot at winning the whole thing in 2011. And even though she has made friends from other schools through lacrosse, Lockhart really wants a shot at taking down the area’s two best teams: Oak Mountain and Vestavia.

“This year is the big year, my senior year,” she says, “and I want to get everything done.”

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“I was working out one day when Scott came up to me and said, ‘You need to be in my show this summer.’”

Tamra Barron

Chelsea resident Tamra Barron is perhaps one of the most conditioned female athletes you could meet, even though in her sport there is no ball to put in a goal and no finish line to cross. That’s because this mother of two is a competitive fitness model—and one who takes her training very seriously.

The 33-year-old has always been a fitness enthusiast, often found in the gym lifting weights or getting in some cardiovascular work several days a week. Despite her interest in healthy living, Barron wasn’t competitive in sports until she entered the 2010 NGA Alabama Natural Open Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Model Championships, taking second place in the women’s fitness model competition.

It wasn’t until May—just a couple of months before the competition—that Barron decided to give the sport a shot. “I was working out one day when Scott [Hults, Greystone YMCA fitness director, competitive bodybuilder and competition organizer] came up to me and said, ‘You need to be in my show this summer,’” Barron says. “I looked at him like he was crazy.”

Since she is married to a strength and conditioning coach, Barron perhaps understands the foundations of strength training better than most women. She quickly learned how to train for a fitness model competition, which consists of lifting weights and maintaining a strict diet.

In the weeks leading up to the competition, Barron took in more calories than many men a foot taller than her 5’2” frame. By the time the competition rolled around, she was physically prepared but mentally unsure. “I was a nervous wreck before the competition.

I didn’t want anyone to know I was doing this,“ Barron says.

“Getting up on that stage gave me more self-confidence,” Barron says. “My 6-yearold and 4-year-old liked it because mommy brought home a trophy.”

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Brenda Campis, tennis Unlike many athletes, Brenda Campis didn’t grow up playing her sport of choice. In fact, Campis, who is a member of several tennis teams, didn’t start playing until her children were teenagers.

“I was 38 years old before I ever picked up a tennis racquet,” says Campis, who learned to play so she could compete with wives of her husband’s business associates when she accompanied him on business trips. “I had never played until then, but once I learned, I went right into the leagues. Anytime anybody wanted to play, I would play.”

Today, almost 25 years after her first lesson, Campis remains a regular on the local tennis circuit. “Through sports, especially team sports, you meet so many new people and become close friends. For me tennis is a great social network,” she says.

Almost a decade ago, Campis came to rely on that network in a way she never would have imagined. After a breast cancer diagnosis in 2001, Brenda underwent surgery and chemotherapy. Her favorite activity and network of friends provided support.

“I told my doctor, ‘Please don’t make me have to give up playing tennis,’” Campis says.

“I had the surgery on Feb. 7, and I played in my first match three weeks later. I was determined to keep playing, and I saved my energy in order to do some of the things that I like to do,” she adds. “I played through the chemo.”

“There were times where I was depressed, and being able to get back out and play was so important for me. Everyone was just so supportive. There was always someone jumping in and asking ‘what can I do?’” says Campis, who is now cancer free. “Even if I couldn’t hit the ball as hard or play my best, there was always someone there.”

“Through sports, especially team sports, you meet so many new people and become close friends. For me tennis is a great social network.”

Brenda Campis

“I can think about how I beat a particular boy in practice, and I can go out there and not be nervous.”

Kelly Jiang

Kelly Jiang, fencing Few people have the chance to experience what Kelly Jiang is experiencing right now: being recognized as one of the best in the country at something. This Mountain Brook resident is a nationally ranked saber fencer, and one of the brightest competitors in her sport—and she’s only 13.

Jiang showed a natural talent for the sport at 7, after accompanying her brother to his fencing lessons. A smart and precocious kid, she picked up on the sport right away. Soon, Jiang was taking group lessons and learning the vagaries of the sport at a time when most girls her age were playing soccer or taking dance lessons. She soon added individual lessons to catch up to the rest of her class.

Now, the Mountain Brook Junior High student practices four days per week, twice in private lessons. Fencing is psychological and solitary in nature, qualities that suit this teenager just fine. “You’re constantly thinking about what you opponent is doing,” Jiang says.

She is one of the only girls in the southeast who specializes in the saber, not the foil that most people are familiar with, so Jiang usually trains with boys. “It really gives me confidence when I go out for a tournament and face girls that look larger or stronger than me,” she says. “I can think about how I beat a particular boy in practice, and I can go out there and not be nervous.”

Not that she stresses herself out over competitors. Jiang takes a low-key approach, challenging herself rather than focusing on beating a certain competitor or advancing higher levels.

“I like to have small goals, like getting a certain move down,” she says. “My philosophy is be happy and do your best. It’s not about winning.”

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