Girl Power

Most 11-year-old girls are still playing with dolls or just starting to get into make-up and everything else that young girls are in to, but for one local girl, she is getting ready for a trip to Pasadena, CA, to play football.

Meet Joellei Benoit. She is a member of the Lafayette Swampcats U10 football team, and not only is she a member, but she is the starting left end and right tackle.

“Playing defense is my favorite,” Benoit said. “I really like to hit and you get to do that a lot on defense.”

Benoit got started playing football when she was in the fourth grade.

“I told my mom I wanted to play,” Benoit said. “So she signed me up when I was in the fourth grade and I have been in love with it ever since.”

Joellei’s mom had some reservations about her daughter playing football at first.

“I honestly didn’t think it was tackle at first,” Joellei’s mom Amy Benoit said. “My oldest daughter had played powder puff football a year before and I thought that’s what Joellei was wanting to play. When I found out that it
was tackle I talked to her (Joellei) about it and she said she wanted to play.

“So the only thing I said after that is, if she was going to play she was going to finish the season and earn everything she gets, and so far she has done just that.”

For Joellei the love of football started at an early age.

“I have always loved sports, especially contact sports,” Joellei said. “The only thing that was bad about my love of contact sports, was all the sports that girls could play, there wasn’t enough contact.

“I mean I liked playing soccer and softball, it just wasn’t enough contact for me. So I asked my mom if I could play football, and here I am.”

The best part of playing football for Joellei is when the boys on the other team realize that she is a girl.

“Most of the time this season they didn’t know I was a girl until the game was over,” Joellei said. “I would hear them say things like, Oh man you got hit by a girl, or I can’t believe that you led a girl take you down like that. I
really like hearing that from the other team.”

One of the hardest things for Joellei to overcome was the factthat she was the only girl on the team.

“It was kind of weird at first,” Joellei said. “It was honestly the hardest part about playing football, not the hitting and tackling, but just the fact it’s hard being the only girl in an all boy sport.”

Joellei’s mom isn’t anymore concerend for the saftey of her daughter than any other player on the field.

“I have the same concern for my daughter that I do for my son,” Benoit said. “I know that she is fast and can handle everything they throw at her, and accidents can happen anywhere. I can’t hold her back because I’m afraid
she would get hurt on the football field.”

Along with playing football right now, Joellei has some lofty goals in mind for her football career.

“I want to be the first girl to play in the NFL,” Joellei said. “I know that probably isn’t going to happen, but why set goals that are easy? To get to the NFL I know I will have to work hard and do the very best that I can. Before
the NFL though I just want to play in middle school and in high school.”

The mind-set that Joellei has is what is going to take her as far as she wants.

“I know they say girls shouldn’t play football, but you can’t listen to what everyone else says,” Joellei said. “As a girl if you can find something that you enjoy, you should do that, and not worry about what everyone says
about you. As long as you enjoy it that’s all that matters.”

As mentioned earlier the Swampcats are hoping to make a trip to Pasadena, CA, to play in the Big Dog Bowl, but to do that they are going to need help from the community to help pay for the trip out to California.

The Lafayette Swampcats are a privately funded youth select football organization that’s committed to providing an avenue for young football athletes to learn proper skills and disclipine and to compete at an advanced level
with peers from across the state.

The organization was formed by Rusty Noel and Vance Roberts.

If you would like to help contribute to the fund to help the Swampcats make it to Pasadena, you can contact Rusty Noel at (337) 257-0237 or Vance Roberts at (337) 552-8816.

Along with the phone calls, you can go to www.gofundme.com/u10lafayetteswampcats.com to help.

Andy Bullard
Sports Editor