Claire Jeffress has found her place as the kicker on Dawson’s football team.
Lightning dots the sky, so Dawson’s Wednesday walk through for Thursday’s game takes place in the gym.
In this case, the kickers aren’t really needed, so Claire Jeffress isn’t around at first.
She comes back for an interview, but afterward, she stays to hear coach Eric Wells address the team. Once he finishes, players huddle and raise their helmets before being dismissed.
At that point, it’s hard to pick out the 5-3 Jeffress. Even as a female kicker on a Class 6A varsity football team, she blends in.
The team makes it that way.
“Now a sister is on the team instead of all brothers,” Wells said. “It’s no big deal. They’ll protect her. She’s one of them.” Working way up
Jeffress, who mainly plays soccer, has been kicking since the seventh grade and worked her way through Dawson’s sub-varsity the last two years. In her first varsity game, a 31-21 win over Oak Ridge on Aug. 26, Jeffress was 4-for-4 on extra-point attempts.
Extra-point attempts were all she had done previously, but she attempted and made her first field goal in that game at 20 yards, too.
Females in football aren’t common, but they’re not rare, either. Erin DiMeglio became the first female quarterback in Florida high school football history in 2012. Holley Mangold, younger sister of NFL center Nick Mangold, was an offensive lineman in high school before becoming an Olympic weightlifter.
Houston has had its fair share of females in male sports, too. Just last year, Brianna Jones played freshman football for Klein Oak. Former George Ranch pitcher Sarah Hudek currently plays baseball for Bossier Parish Community College (La.).
The upcoming Fox TV series “Pitch” depicts the story of a pitcher who becomes the first woman to play in the major leagues.
Jeffress being on the football team is only the latest example of girls breaking barriers in maledominated sports.
Jeffress enjoys the camaraderie on both the football and soccer team, but naturally it’s a unique experience being around the boys.
She hasn’t had any problems or confrontations.
“I make a kick and I’m coming off the sidelines and they’re all so hyped for me,” Jeffress said. “It feels genuine, which I think is really amazing.
“I don’t have to fight with the people on my team. It’s only my battle against whoever we’re playing.” Helping her team
It’s about coming together to win. And Jeffress helps the Eagles win.
“Our worry was when she first started doing it in seventh or eighth grade was that the kids would be like, ‘Wait a minute. Why is a girl doing this?’ said Jeff Jeffress, Claire’s father. “We never heard any of that.
“Actually, to be honest, any concerns, as soon as she started making kicks, they didn’t care anymore.”
Of course, there is some adjustment needed. Jeffress is in a separate locker room. Teammates help by bringing her equipment. She listens for the whistle for everyone to hit the practice field from her locker room. Treated the same
She doesn’t do kickoffs, and while her first field goal was just a few weeks ago, she’s hit a 40-yarder in practice.
She wears a side braid during games and takes her pads off at halftime to fix her hair.
She splits time between football and her club soccer demands.
And Jeffress carries a certain amount of fearlessness. She said she’s not afraid of being physical or getting hit.
Above all, nothing changes when she’s on the field. She is the same and treated as such. Assistant coach Mike Garcia makes sure of that.
“Whenever I put on my pads or I go on the field, he’s like, ‘You’re not a girl right now. You’re a football player.’ ” Jeffress said. “Then, when we get back to the school, he’d be like ‘OK, Claire, you can be a girl now again.” adam.coleman@chron.com twitter.com/chroncoleman