PARAGOULD, Ark. (AP) - In Cindy Henry's small office at Crowley's Ridge College, tucked away inconspicuously on a bookshelf behind Henry's desk is a bronze-colored trophy.
While a trophy is not an uncommon item in a coach's office, this one carries unique significance, in that it was awarded to Henry after she was named the Memphis Belles' tackle football team's Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Football?
Yes, the Lady Pioneers' volleyball/softball coach recently completed her first season of playing for the Belles, a World Football Alliance team, and she's already making plans to play again next season.
Sports has always been a big part of Henry's life. Henry was a two-sport standout at Westside High School and then went on to graduate from CRC, where she was a two-time National Christian College Association All-American volleyball player, helping the Lady Pioneers to a national runner-up finish. She later earned a bachelor's degree in physical education, health and journalism from Arkansas State University.
As with most women athletes after graduation, Henry's desire for competition and a physical challenge on the athletic field hasn't faded away. She found a way to fulfill that need - on the Internet.
"I was on the Internet one day and typed in 'women's football' and it came up women's professional football," Henry said.
Even while in high school Henry said she wanted to play football but never got the opportunity.
"I wanted to, but they said 'no' you don't need to get out there and play," she said. "But now they're letting (girls play football) and that's kind of frustrating. Yeah, I always (wanted) to play football growing up. I always played flag football when I got the opportunity and loved to throw the football around.
"So when this came up, I jumped on it."
Henry went to Memphis for tryouts, hoping to earn a spot on the Belles' roster.
"They said, yeah, yeah, we want you to play for us," she said. "I just took a shot and made the team."
The only basic requirements to play for the Belles are a player must be age 18 or older and have valid health insurance. Henry signed a one-year contract and reported for practice.
Players have to pay for their own equipment or find sponsors. Henry bought her own shoulder pads. Wearing all the gear plus a helmet took some adjusting for the first-time gridder.
"When I first put the pads on, it was different," Henry said. "I've never had to play a sport where you had to wear the extra padding and a helmet. It adds a lot of extra weight. It's a lot harder to run and get up and down. It's different."
Henry said the biggest adjustment was "our first practices were in the winter and getting hit in the cold makes you feel like your bones are shattering. And it seemed like it rained every practice."
The Belles practiced three times a week. Most players had to squeeze in practice while juggling a job and kids or both.
"Everybody on the team had a job and that comes first," Henry said. "You have to make a living. And they (coaches) understand that."
Due to her obligations at CRC, Henry was only able to make Saturday practices. Still, she earned a starting position on the offensive line. She also saw some playing time on defense and got to play fullback in one game.
When she didn't get to attend a defensive team meeting with coaches, "they just had to throw me out there and let me play. It wasn't too hard. I've played sports my whole life and they would just walk me through it as I would come off the field. I didn't really grasp the concepts of special teams, so I would run around hitting people."
Henry wasn't the only player from northeast Arkansas to play for the Belles last season. Her cousin, Ashley Kennon of Wynne, also played this summer. Kennon is a volleyball and girls' track coach at Wynne.
One of the final frontiers of a male-dominated sport, women's football teams play before small crowds and struggle for media attention and sponsorships while the behemoth NFL's Super Bowl attracted some 140 million viewers last season and its players command lucrative salaries. The Belles have to rent fields to practice on and this season played their home games at NSA Mid-South Varsity Field in Millington, Tenn., and averaged about 200 fans a game.
The women gridders receive no pay while risking serious injury for the privilege of playing.
The WFA is not a powder-puff league; it's full-contact football played according to NFL rules. The players don full pads and take the game seriously, giving new meaning to "hitting like a girl."
Henry definitely didn't shy away from contact. She said her favorite part during games was pass blocking for her quarterback.
"The thing I enjoyed most about playing on the line is, when we would run a pass play and my quarterback would get caught up and I would blind-side the girl (pass rusher) every time," Henry said. "I hammered this one poor little girl and I laid her out. She had her eyes set on the quarterback and I went for her and smashed her."
Asked what friends and family members thought of her playing tackle football, Henry said they "thought it was cool." She said her mom had some reservations about it, though.
"She came and watched me play and she was like 'just don't get hurt.,"' Cindy said with a smile.
The Belles finished 2009 with a 4-4 record in their second year of existence, and Henry said she was surprised when she won the team award.
"That was cool. That was interesting. It was a surprise because we had a lot of good offensive players," she said.
Henry is already looking forward to next season. She's just not sure if she will be wearing a Belles uniform or not.
"I'm torn. Another team wants me to play with them. I don't know what I want to do yet," she said.
With one season of WFA football under her belt, sounds like Henry has some options for next year.
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Information from: Paragould Daily Press, http://www.paragoulddailypress.com/
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