Senior Avery Barrett got to play high school powder puff football for the first time last season.
“My favorite moment was when Ryley Shaw caught a ball that fell out of one of the senior’s hands and got us a touchdown. It won us the game, and it was so fun to play,” Barrett said.
Not only will Barrett get to play the sport again in today’s juniors vs. seniors game, but she plans to participate in Baldwin’s new female in-house powder puff league in the spring. While the plan is not finalized, Athletic Director Anthony Cherico has an idea of what the league will look like.
“I think I’m going to do an in-house league where every team might play three or four games and then we’ll enter into a tournament-type situation,” Cherico said.
And then, if all goes according to plan, next year Baldwin could put together its own powder puff team to compete against other schools in the area. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association recently approved powder puff as a team sport.
Cherico sent out a survey to gauge interest in bringing a powder puff league team to Baldwin and got responses from about 125 girls.
With that much interest, Cherico doesn’t want to form a team that would compete against other schools this year, since that would require tryouts and cuts, he said. The plan for an in-house league will allow all female athletes to play the first year Baldwin has the sport. It will take place during the spring sports season.
Many girls have shown interest in the sport.
“Growing up watching my older and younger brothers play football has sparked my interest in joining the team. That made it easily my favorite sport to watch,” junior Allison Lease said. “I think this will be good for any multisport athlete looking for something new to do, like myself.”
Barrett is also excited about the new opportunity.
“I think this team is going to bring more of a crowd of girls to go out of their comfort zone and try new things,” Barrett said.
The NFL has nationally promoted the idea of having states and schools adopt powder puff as an official sport. The Eagles and the Steelers have helped kickstart the sport in Pennsylvania with some jersey and equipment donations, Cherico said.
Cherico hopes that girls at Baldwin will capitalize on the opportunity offered by the sport.
“Hopefully, the girls who aren’t playing other sports find this as an alternative that they can play in the springtime,” Cherico said.
