Equal Footing : Girl, 11, Tackles Old Views on Boys Team

Chances are good 11-year-old Maureen Ellement is the only member of the Conejo Cowboys football team whose toenails are painted a vivid pink.

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But as she bored full steam ahead toward the shoulder pads of teammate Allen Lopez, 13, during a recent practice, her polished nails were a well-kept secret.

With a whack and a clack and an extremely determined expression, she collided with the bigger player. He had the ball and he kept going, dragging her along.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and tugged until he dropped to the ground, or rather onto her 5-foot, 106-pound frame. She appeared unperturbed--just another day at football practice in Thousand Oaks--and as Maureen would say, she is just another player.

Last year, Maureen was also wearing the Conejo Cowboys’ blue and white, only then they were on a cheerleading outfit. This season, she ditched the skirt and donned shoulder pads.

“Cheerleading had gotten kind of boring,” Maureen said. “It just wasn’t active enough for me.”

The Cowboys’ cheerleaders practice in the next field over, and after two years of watching football from a distance, Maureen decided to join the boys.

Her father, Denny Ellement, happens to be an assistant coach for the Conejo Cowboys, and her older brother Dennis, 12, is a member of the team.

“I told her that as long as her mother said it was OK, it was fine with me,” her father said. “I have no qualms about her trying it. It’s really up to her if she likes it or not.”

So far, Maureen said she is enjoying the beginning of her first season.

No one teases her, and her teammates even throw the ball to her. She has already made her mark as the second fastest player on the team. She said she likes receiving and running with the ball the best.

The head coach, Danny Nalbandian, said his initial worries about Maureen keeping up with the boys are gone.

“She’s working really hard,” Nalbandian said. “Her athletic ability is super and her attitude is great. She’s really taking this seriously. I’m excited for her.”

The Conejo Cowboys are part of the Pacific Youth Football League. The season begins in mid-September, with 10 regular games for the Conejo Cowboys and a chance to advance to the playoffs. For now, there are practices every day and frequent scrimmages.

Maureen’s long brown ponytail has not gone unnoticed, even though she tries to keep it tucked into her shirt. And the response to having a girl on an otherwise all-boys team has not been entirely favorable.

“A lot of the parents told their sons not to hit her hard,” said Rick Riccobono, whose son, Santo, 12, is also on the Cowboys. “Everybody is worried about her getting hurt. She’s a tough girl, but that is not the same as a tough boy.”

“She is invading their space,” he said. “Some things should be mixed, some things should be separate.”

League Vice President Dick White said he has never heard complaints from parents about girls participating.

“As far as the boys go, certain of the older ones, in the 12- to 13-year-old category, are a little unsure of how to handle it,” White said. “Most were taught not to hit girls all through grammar school, and then all of a sudden they are in a situation where they are supposed to hit them.”

White said there are about half a dozen girls playing on the league’s 74 teams from Ojai to Santa Clarita. One of them is 8-year-old Mallory Westhoff of Thousand Oaks, a member of the Conejo Cowboys bantam team.

Allen Lopez’s father, also named Allen, said he thought Maureen was taking her fair share of hits, at least from his son.

“I myself told him, ‘Allen, why don’t you be nice to her?’ ” the older Lopez said. “And he said, ‘Dad, she is a part of the team, and she doesn’t get any special treatment.’ ”

Allen confirmed his father’s words.

“We hit her harder, I mean, the same as everyone else,” he said, with a slight smirk. “And she’s very fast.”

Maureen, who also plays softball, basketball and has a purple belt in karate, said she is not scared of being tackled.

“It doesn’t really hurt at all,” she said. “It might sting a little bit if you have 10 guys on you, but otherwise it’s OK.”

Does her older brother ever tackle her?

“If I get a chance to, I do,” Dennis said.