Video story reported and produced by Leo Santos. Anchored by Hannah Halili. Web edited by Siham Kharfan and Stephanie Rivera.
Besides the Buccaneers, Tampa Bay is home to another professional tackle football team: the Tampa Bay Inferno. All-female and part of the Women’s Football Alliance, the Inferno has been breaking barriers in the world of professional football for almost 10 years.
Women’s interest and participation in football have been on a steady incline nationwide. Women’s flag football was recently added to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and is in its first year of competition. This year, Maral Javadifar and Lori Locust of the Bucs became the first female assistant coaches to win a Super Bowl.
The Inferno is another in this series of trailblazers for women in football. The team wrapped up a successful season in June with a record of 7-1. Jennifer Moody, the owner of the team, says the team has achieved enormous goals on the field.
“We have five division championships, two conference championships, and, again, two appearances at the national championship stage,” says Moody. “But we’re not done.”
The team also contributes to their community off the field, visiting schools and youth sports clubs in Hillsborough County to promote girls’ flag football. Moody says the Inferno also contributes their time to the Tampa YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club.
According to the National Federation of State High Schools Association, 2,404 girls played 11-player tackle football on boys’ high school teams during the 2018 to 2019 school year. Participation has doubled in the last 10 years, up from 1,249 girls in the 2009-10 school year.
Outside linebacker Liz Wilson says she uses her platform to encourage young female athletes to follow their dreams, even when they are discouraged.
“The coaches in middle school told me that I was a girl and it would like, ‘mess up my female body’ or whatever if I were to play a men’s sport,” says Wilson. “I was like, ‘I’m bigger than all these boys.’ So I didn’t understand.”
Since women’s tackle football is still unusual in the world of athletics, most Inferno players have a second job outside of playing for the team. Moody, as well as being the owner of the team, also serves as the Director of Administration for the Tampa YMCA.
“Typically our days don’t end at 5 p.m.,” she says. “They may start at 2 a.m. depending on shifts or jobs and may not end until 10 or 11 p.m. when our practices are over.”
The team says the long hours and sacrifice are worth it to raise awareness about women’s football. The Inferno opened recruitment for the WFA’s 2021 season in September. They hope to continue to showcase the talents of Tampa’s young female athletes.
“I think it’s really good for women and especially young women. Especially with flag football getting bigger and bigger, there’s a lot of women who want to play football,” says Wilson. “And we’re really progressing the sport and promoting it. And it’s something that brings a lot of happiness and joy to my life.”
Visit tbinferno.com to learn more about the team and their contributions to the community.
