Sulmy Oliva started playing football in the seventh grade. Now, in her junior year, she is the only female player on the CHS Varsity football team. The team won their first game of the season last week, in a matchup against John Marshall High School. With a final score of 48-6, Oliva described the win as the “best feeling in the world.” 

Oliva began playing football in the seventh grade: “I like the way that we did drills and how we, like, got to tackle people. If you are ever angry, you can take your anger out on the other team,” the CHS senior said. “I just love football, I tried other sports and I didn’t really enjoy the same as football. Football is the main sport that I enjoy playing.”

As a girl in a male-dominated sport, playing football raises challenges that Oliva has worked to overcome. She gave an example from a recent matchup against James Monroe High School: “Last Friday, they noticed that I was a girl. So they got like three people to tackle me. But Coach T be getting us ready to get tackled, so it’s not like I’m facing a lot of challenges.”

Terrell Mulford, also referred to as Coach T, began coaching Varsity football last fall. He also coaches indoor track and field in the winter sports season. The player said Coach T is “the best coach she’s ever had,” and prides him for his encouragement and coaching style.

 “I feel like a lot of women should be a little bit different. I feel like anybody can play football or any girl can do like a boys sport,” Oliva said. “I feel like girls, we got that strength to do anything that we want to do. So I feel like we should get more girls for the football team.” 

Oliva is a two-sport athlete, who also plays on the girls softball team in the spring. After high school, she hopes to continue to play football in the future, potentially in college. As the football season continues, Sulmy Oliva will continue to make her mark on the field and prove that determination and love for the game is not limited to gender.