New all-female football team in the works for Chatham-Kent

Brooke Walters says taunts about being the only girl on a male football team just motivate her to play even better.

The 16-year-old Chatham, Ont., teen started playing football with the Chatham-Kent Cougars three years ago. But now, her local club is trying to gather enough interest together to launch an all-female football team. 

"I saw kids playing it at recess a lot in elementary school and I just wanted to join in," Brooke said. "I found out about a league, about the Chatham Kent Cougars. So I just joined, started playing that way."

Vicki Walters, Brooke's mom, says Brooke has always been an athlete enrolled in, at times, several kinds of dance, volleyball, basketball and even rugby before she found football. 

But it didn't come without a bit of surprise, and worry for her daughter's physical safety, with Brooke playing such a high-intensity contact sport.

Brooke says she view her teammates like "brothers." But, she says, she does hear the stereotypes and "chirps" from other teams. 

"It kind of just like drove me to try harder," Brooke said. "They would say that girls can't play football and I don't belong on the field … I wouldn't say anything. I would just try harder."

Brooke has played positions including receiver and safety for the team. 

When she played on an all-female Ontario Women's Football League (OWFL) team in London last year, she played quarterback, helping carry the team to provincial championship. 

"She excelled as the on the women's team for the quarterback," Walters said. "Brooke, we're very proud to say was MVP."

Now, Brooke's travel football club, the Chatham-Kent Cougars, are gauging interest in starting an all-female team catering to teens in Grades 11, 12 and the first year of post-secondary —