Thirteen-year-old Angela Guevara (#12) is seen coming off the field last week after playing in an offensive series as the wide receiver for the Riverside Middle School Bulldogs. Angela will play her eighth game thus far on Saturday at the old Greyhound Stadium. (Photos by Rodrigo Davila)
By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com
Although life hasn’t changed for Angela Guevara, what the 13-year-old Riverside Middle School student is changing are people’s perceptions about her.
On Saturday, Angela will be playing her eighth game as a football player for the Riverside Bulldogs. The seventh grade team, for which Angela plays wide receiver, will take on rival Miller Jordan at old Greyhound Stadium.
It’s a dream for most aspiring San Benito athletes to play on such a history-laden field, most boys…that is. While not completely unheard of, a girl playing football remains quite uncommon, be it at the local or national level. Considering as much, it’s safe to say that, initially, there was some doubt associated with Angela’s desire to hit the gridiron with the rest of the boys.
“My mom hasn’t gone to see me play yet, but she told me she’s planning to go to this one,” Angela said of her mother’s plans to attend the Miller Jordan game. “She doesn’t really want to go because she’s scared that I might get hurt.”
A mother worried about her little one’s well-being. Not totally unheard of, but how about her friends?
Angela responded, “My friends told me that it’s cool what I’m doing, but they never thought that I was going to make it on the team, because I’m a girl and they didn’t think I could do it.”
But she did make the team, and now those who doubted her feel a little differently about the wideout. “Some friends are scared of me, but I’m just going for it, man!” Angela exclaimed.
Her sentiments are exactly what Riverside football coach Alfonso De La Cruz shared.
“I’d tell them to go for it,” De La Cruz said when asked how he would encourage other girls, or anyone else to play football. “Anybody can do anything they want to do, male or female. Gender to me doesn’t matter…as long as they can hit and catch.”
And Angela can do just that.
It all started for her when she began playing football with her friends. You know, for fun.
“I like playing receiver…I don’t know, I just think it’s fun. I like looking at people tackling each other, and I like tackling,” Angela said, adding that her goal is to someday play for the San Benito Greyhounds at the varsity football level. “I want to keep going on. I want to play next year, and I want to keep going to high school. My dad told me that I can accomplish anything and to keep going.”
Her coach is also supportive.
“The one thing about Angela is that, when I first met her, she came up to me and after I introduced myself and asked her if she ever played football on a team, she said, ‘No, but I want to learn,’” De La Cruz said, adding, “As a coach, that’s one thing you want to hear from someone, that it’s not just about putting on a jersey but to want to learn how to play. Some of the boys look up to her because of that.”
How do the fans respond?
“Every time she goes into the game, they’re at their loudest,” De La Cruz noted. “She’s doing great learning her position, and when she’s out there, everything she learns from practice she takes to the game. She’s told me before that she wants to do more, and I hope she continues doing that in the future – in sports and in school.”
Angela became the second in her family to play for the Bulldogs by following in her brother, Gustavo Guevara’s footsteps. Gustavo is currently a senior at San Benito High School and a cadet with the Naval Junior ROTC.
Currently, the Bulldogs are 1-6 with their only victory being against Harlingen Coakley by a score 21-0.
The Bulldogs will now go up against the Miller Jordan Bobcats at approximately 10:30 a.m. – or immediately following the 9 a.m. eighth grade game – on Saturday at old Greyhound Stadium.
Read this story in the Oct. 28 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
1 comments
you go girl….”People who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who ARE doing it!!”