从啦啦队队长到橄榄球员

by Ashley Mateo

Everyone has that stereotypical[陈规的] idea of a cheerleader： cute， peppy[活泼的]， bows in her hair. And that was me， from kindergarten to eighth grade. I loved being on the squad[小队]， from the girly parts like curling[使卷曲] each others hair for competitions to trying new stunts[惊人表演，绝技] at practice. But I also loved watching the football games as we cheered—sometimes I was more focused on the plays than our routines[常规，日常事务]！ Every time someone scored， I wished I was the one in the end zone[（球门线到底线的）球门区].

A Long Shot[很少机会成功的尝试]

I grew up tossing[投，掷] a football and going to games with my dad. Once while waiting to cheer in my middle school game， my dad and I were watching the high school team play—they were losing—and he said，“I bet you could do better than that.” His words stuck with me， and right before my freshman year， I started to feel bored with cheerleading—and more excited about football. I thought， maybe I should be on the field[运动场].

I decided to go to a preseason[活跃季节前的] meeting to see about joining the team， even though theyd never had a girl on the roster[花名册] before. When I walked into the school gym， packed with guys and parents waiting for info， everyone turned and stared， like， what is she doing here？ I saw guys I had cheered for—guys I considered friends—and I wondered what they thought about me playing alongside them. My school is small， so there arent tryouts[选拔赛]—you just sign up for the team. But I still had to officially sign up in front of the whole crowd， with all eyes on me. I could feel the tension[紧张状态] in the room， and as I walked up to hand in my forms， I almost felt like I was doing something wrong. I worried—are the coaches going to laugh at me？ Will they tell me I cant play？ Instead， they looked at me like I was pulling a joke on them， but they finally took my papers and told me to show up for training camp the week before school. I was officially a football player！

每个人都对“啦啦队队长”有一种固定印象——她们总是活泼可爱，头上系着蝴蝶结。从幼儿园到八年级，我都是这副模样。我喜欢在啦啦队的感觉，从赛前女生之间互相盘头发，到练习新的特技等等。不过，在为球队打气之余，我也喜欢看橄榄球比赛——有时球赛甚至比我们自己的啦啦队环节更让我投入！每当有人进球，我总是希望自己是球门区的一员。

孤注一掷

我是玩着橄榄球长大的，从小就跟着爸爸去看球赛。有一次，我和爸爸在我的中学看球赛，在等待给初中队加油助威的空当，我们看到高中队出师不利，胜利无望。爸爸说：“我敢打赌，你肯定比他们踢得好。”他的这句话烙在了我的心上。就在我升上高一之前，我开始厌倦当啦啦队队长给球队助威，转而对球赛更感兴奋。我想，也许我应该站在球场上。

我决定去参加一次季前赛集会，看看我能不能加入球队——即使他们的名册上从未出现过女生。我走进学校的体育馆时，那里挤满了在等消息的男生和家长。一时间，所有人都转过身盯着我，好像在说：“她来这里做什么呀？”我看到了以前在啦啦队时为其助威过的男生，我把他们当做朋友，不知道他们会怎么看我和他们一起踢球的事呢？我的学校不大，所以没有选拔赛，只要报名就能入选。但我还是不得不在所有人的注视之下正式报名。我能感觉到房间里的紧张感。在走上去提交报名表时，我感觉自己好像在做什么错事似的。我担心教练会不会笑我？他们会对我说我踢不了球吗？其实刚好反过来，他们觉得是我和他们开了个玩笑，要看他们闹笑话。不过他们最后还是收下了我的报名表，并叫我开学前一周到训练营报到。我成为了一名正式的橄榄球队员！

Tumbles[翻倒] to Tackles[抓住，揪住]

Making the team might have been easy， but earning my spot among the guys was harder. I changed alone in the girls locker room[衣帽间]， and I wasnt allowed in with the guys until everyone was dressed. The first time I walked into their space， most of the guys fell totally silent， and a few even huddled up[挤在一堆] laughing at me. They never said anything mean to my face， but that almost made it worse—the guys were often loud and goofy[愚笨的]， teasing[取笑] each other. But the fact that they talked about me in whispers[私语，密谈] made me feel like they were talking trash. I knew I was where I wanted to be， but I also felt like an outsider.

I missed my cheer squad and thought maybe I had made a mistake—the high school cheerleaders even told me girls shouldnt be allowed to play， which hurt. But I knew I belonged on the field. And my friends had my back—they thought I was a bad-ass[（俚）顽强的]！

摸爬滚打

成为球队的一员可能还算简单，但要在一堆男生之中找到自己的一席之地可就没有那么容易了。我独自一人在女更衣室换衣服，而且我必须等大家都换好衣服才能进入他们的更衣室。当我第一次走进他们的地盘，大多数男生一下子安静下来，一言不发，有几个男生还挤在一起笑我。虽然他们从来没有当着我的面说过什么难听的话，但那相当于雪上加霜，因为男生之间通常吵吵闹闹、大大咧咧地互相取笑，而他们窃窃私语地议论我，让我觉得他们是在说些什么坏话。虽然我知道这里就是我想来的地方，但又觉得自己像个局外人。

我想念我的啦啦队，心想也许我犯了一个错误。高中的啦啦队队长甚至对我说，女生本来就不应该被允许加入球队。这让我很难过。但我知道，我是属于橄榄球场的。我的朋友们都支持我——他们认为我是一头犟驴！

So instead of dwelling on[细想] the fact that I felt left out， I gave myself pep talks[鼓舞士气的讲话] and I decided I just had to prove my value to the team. Every practice， I gave it my all， running plays[指策略]， jumping hurdles[跨栏]， and pushing sandbags until my body hurt. After a month， the guys became more welcoming—cheering me on at games and practice， and including me in conversations off the field. One even told me， “Youve got guts[胆量] to be here！”

I felt tougher when my coach made me a defensive tackle[防守截锋]. That position is no joke； my whole role is to take people down！ I get hit a lot and it hurts—once， my shoulder popped out[突出]！ The first time a player charged[猛攻] at me was scary， but the first time I tackled someone was a rush[一阵激动]！ I felt empowered[使能够] that I could hold my own.

Breaking the Mold[打破常规]

Last September， I got my big moment： Coach put me in a varsity[大学运动代表队] game…and we won！ Finally， I felt like I was a real part of the team—not because I was accepted by the guys， but because I had helped us to victory.

At pep rallies[赛前动员会]， I get a standing ovation[喝彩，欢呼]， and Ive had girls tell me they want to play football now too！ It can be intimidating[使胆怯] to be so outnumbered[数目超过] by guys， but as girls， we cant let that stop us from going after our goals！

所以，我没有继续纠结于被当成局外人的感受，而是自己给自己鼓劲，并决定一定要证明我对球队的价值。每次练习我都全力以赴——战术练习、跨栏、推沙包，直到浑身酸痛。一个月后，男生们逐渐热情起来，他们会在比赛和练习的时候为我加油，在场下谈话时也不再把我排除在外。有人甚至对我说：“你胆子还真不小，竟敢到这里来！”

当教练让我担任防守截锋，我觉得更为艰苦。那个位置非同儿戏，我的任务就是要把人撂倒！我被人撞到过很多次，很疼，有一回连肩膀都被撞脱臼了！第一次有人向我冲来的时候，场面很吓人；但当我第一次扑倒别人，心里充满了快感！我为自己可以守住自己的位置而感到充满力量，信心满满。

打破窠臼

去年九月，我迎来了我的重要时刻——教练让我参加大学校队的一场比赛，最后我们赢了！我终于感到自己是球队的一份子——不是因为我被男生们接受了，而是因为我帮助球队赢得了胜利。

在赛前动员会上，全场起立为我鼓掌。有些女孩还对我说，她们现在也想踢橄榄球了！也许我们面对那么多的男生，会被寡不敌众的气势吓到，但是作为女生，我们不能因此放弃追求我们的目标！