RMFL holds girls football camp as interest grows

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This article was published 07/02/2024 (589 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Larisa Malyon can’t help but feel excited for girls like her in the near future.

The defensive back was the only girl in her class playing football at Crocus Plains when she started. On Saturday, she was one of 27 taking part in the Rural Manitoba Football League’s U18 girls indoor camp at TC Sports.

“It’s great to see the amount of girls that came out because when I first started, there were absolutely no girls in the sport and watching us grow, even though there’s not much in Brandon for us to do, it’s nice to see people from all over, like Regina … coming out,” Malyon said.

“It’s nice to see how much it’s grown within the last couple of years and I’d like to see how much it’s going to grow after I’m done playing here.”

The RMFL tried to get a camp together in Dauphin last year, but logistics didn’t work out. This time, it held a 90-minute classroom session to cover some of the basics of the game, then two hours on the new indoor TC Sports turf.

The athletes and a large group of coaches, including a handful of Brandon’s Winnipeg High School Football League ones and five players from the Western Women’s Canadian Football League, ran them through drills before a brief scrimmage.

It was unique for Malyon to finally hit players closer to her size.

“You’re still hitting something, but it’s not like you’re hitting a brick wall and you’re not going to get anywhere,” she said, adding it’s not as scary as it seems to play.

“It helps you realize girls can play the same sport as guys. Gender doesn’t really matter.

“Girls are better at accepting things than some guys. The guys aren’t really too keen on accepting a lot of new people. The girls will be like ‘anyone’s welcome.’”

Malyon added she “lucked out” the teammates she played with at Crocus, who welcomed her with open arms after getting into football because her brothers played.

“That’s the only sport they focused on at home so I wanted to be included,” Malyon said.

“I think the hardest thing would be trying to fit in. They’d think I’m a girl that’s there because I want to be with the boys all the time, but I just think it helps me grow as as a person to be one of the guys and try to fit in like that.

“The group of guys I got … they’ve been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

One of the coaches and WWCFL players had a similar start. Annalisa Ellingson’s dad was the Swan Valley Tigers’ offensive co-ordinator in the RMFL. One day, they were playing catch when he mentioned the JV team didn’t have a quarterback.

“He was like ‘You should come and try it.’ I thought he was joking and he actually was serious,” said Ellingson, who ended up playing QB on the varsity team, and then moving on to join the Regina Riot.

Living closer to Saskatchewan — where minor girls’ football is ahead of the curve compared to Manitoba where just a smaller Manitoba Girls Football Association exists with teams in and around Winnipeg — Ellingson played for the Melville Vipers. She was part of the inagural U18 girls’ game in the province at age 15.

While she plays the game at an elite level now, she wants to see a stronger pathway for players starting younger.

“My motivation is to open up doors for girls that are younger than me … grow the game and have more competitive women’s football in the future,” she said.

“When I started playing football I didn’t even think it was a possibility. I didn’t think girls were allowed to play on my high school team.

“I would love to have the next generation of girls have that as a possibility in their minds. They can do it. They can play football. It’s not just a boys’ sport.”

RMFL vice-president Jason Schenn has a personal connection to the idea, as his daughter, Sydney, suited up for the league’s Moosomin (Sask.) Generals and currently plays for the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries.

According to Schenn, the lack of girls playing football is not one of disinterest, but opportunity.

“The way female football is structured is it’s mostly starting at an elite level. You have Team Canada, you have provincial teams, you have the (Regina) Riot … the (Manitoba) Fearless that exist in terms of next-level football. But there’s not really a whole lot of introductory level other than the MFGA in Winnipeg,” Schenn said.

“There’s tons of athletes out there that are excellent in multi-sport, dance, gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, you name it. A lot of those skills can transfer to football quite easily.

“A lot of these girls started with something else and came to football because they liked the physical nature of it and the aggressiveness of it.”

Schenn hopes to start a six-on-six RMFL female league since the smaller-sided game is easier and cheaper to get off the ground.

It would likely start with scrimmages in 2024 with the hope of a full season soon after.

“Football is any body type, size, shape, skill level,” Schenn said. “There’s a position for everybody on a football team.

“I would love to see a team in Brandon develop and get involved with us.”

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