Kara Adkins
Staff Writer
Football is rarely associated with painted nails, hair ties and makeup; but once a year, the junior and senior girls at Coppell High School come together to show they can be just as tough as our guys.

The junior girls at Coppell recently began the annual planning of the Powderpuff football game by creating a Facebook group to coordinate the event and get shirt ideas. Powderpuff is a tradition at Coppell where the junior and senior girls reverse roles with the football players in order to train and play against each other.

Powderpuff football began back in 1972 when Judy Samaha, the athletic director at Mark T. Sheehan High School in Wallingford, Connecticut wanted to promote girls athletics and get more females involved in athletic events. Since then, this tradition has found its way to CHS and is always met with much enthusiasm from junior and senior classes.

In order to get the girls conditioned for this game, several varsity football players have volunteered to coach the junior players. These juniors include Marvin Parker, Phillip Ellis, Jake Larson, David Busby, Matthew Ainsworth, Austin Buss, Jake Williams, Emmanuel Mulumba, Sam Rice and Richard Robinette.

“Powderpuff this year should be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to seeing what girls play which positions because I don’t know their skill sets,” Parker said. “We are going to split them up based on what we think is best and I think it will be really good to see the girls play.”

With the guidance of the varsity players, the junior girls are hoping for a win. The coaches are planning on practicing with the players a couple of times a week to find out their strengths and where to place them for the big game against the senior class.

This tradition at Coppell generates much anticipation in students. It is a time many junior girls have been waiting for since freshman year, and they are ready to show off what they are capable of.

“In high school, you look forward to your junior year and finally being able to do Powderpuff. It’s one of those experiences you look forward to as you go through the year,” junior Samantha Tutor said. “It is our time to show that we are tough and can actually play sports.”

Although the date is yet to be determined, students in the junior class are putting in their effort into making sure this event goes as smoothly as possible. They have already sold about 110 shirts for this event and it seems they are expecting a big turnout.

“What most people are looking forward to are the shirts, because there are a lot of shirt designs that people are voting for, so it will be interesting to see what they pick,” junior Nicki Diamond said.

Even though only 30 girls will be chosen to play, many students from the junior class have been getting involved in order to help organize this tradition. Although the senior girls have yet to coordinate anything, after last year’s failed attempt to put together a game, they want to take advantage of this year’s opportunity.

Besides the competition aspect, Powderpuff is a great time to bond with fellow classmates before entering senior year and to create closer friendships. Although the competition is what drives the event, it is always a time to help strengthen class relationships.

“[I am looking forward to] all of the junior girls getting to do something fun together and seeing who will play and who wins,” junior Ivy Hess said.

With Powderpuff in sight, it appears that the girls in the class of 2012 are ready to get down and dirty, even if it means breaking a nail or two along the way.