By Avarie Howard, Reporter
Not one, but two young girls at Westside High School are breaking barriers for young women in the Omaha community. Junior Erin Mardi and freshman Piper Zatechka are both playing football for the Warriors this year. Although the girls are on different teams and started at different ages, their reason for starting remains the same.
In third grade, Mardi was at recess when the teachers started hanging out pink and red flyers. She was handed a pink flyer, which was for the girls to get involved in dance. But Mardi didn’t want the pink one, she wanted the red one: the flyer that showed young boys how to get involved in football.
“I went to the main office after school, and asked, can I get a football flyer?” Mardi said.
A similar situation happened to Piper and sparked her interest to get involved in playing football. Her homeroom teacher was handing out football flyers to all the boys in the class and Zatechka was denied a flyer because there were only enough for the boys.
“That was the moment that I decided I wanted to do it,” Zatechka said.
The two agreed that ever since they walked on the field they have been welcomed by their team and the surrounding community. In fact, both girls included that they feel like they are treated “just like one of the guys.”
“Ever since day one, the guys have been really awesome and supportive.” Mardi said.
That doesn’t mean they haven’t had to shake off a few “Is that a girl?” comments and looks; the two said they have received their fair share. For Zatechka, she uses it as fuel. Mardi just lets it go over her head, but both girls stressed that there has been much more encouragement and respect than intimidation and snarky comments.
Andrew Mantzaris, Freshman Head Coach, said that just goes to show the kind of culture they have at Westside and within the program.
“Everybody is a warrior. So, it doesn’t matter their gender…you come out here, you do the work, and put in the effort, that’s just how it goes and everybody has your back.” Mantzaris said.
Away from the field, Piper and Erin are starting to spark a change and a deeper interest in football among young girls in the Omaha community, just like what happened for these two last November when Sarah Fuller entered an SEC football game.
Fuller was the goalie on the Vanderbilt Soccer Team when she got a call from the Vanderbilt Head Football Coach. The football team was in need of a kicker for the weekend and Fuller answered the call. When Fuller came on to kick for the team against the Missouri Tigers, she thought she was just filling a spot for the weekend, but it was bigger than that.
Fuller made history by being the first woman to play in an SEC football game and inspired little girls all across the nation. Girls like Zatechka and Mardi who, for the first time, got to actually see someone like them on T.V.
“I was so excited. I sat down and watched the whole game waiting for that to happen,” Mardi said.
“It was really great seeing you aren’t alone in the sport,” Zatechka added.
These two girls have now done something similar here in the Omaha area. Junior Warriors Football coach relayed a message to Mardi earlier this summer about how many young girls have now shown interest in playing football.
“It’s kind of hard to comprehend how big of an impact I have, because I am just used to being another one of the guys, I am just a part of the team,” Mardi said.
These two girls never realized the impact they were having on others because to them, they were simply doing something they loved, something they hope to keep doing in the future and much further than just at Westside High School.
