“Are you serious?”
That’s what Tee Banks hears way too often when she talks about the Derby City Dynamite. She is dead serious (she can show you what’s up if you need a visual) and she wants more women in and around Louisville to know that if they want to play tackle football, nobody can tell them they can’t.
The Dynamite team plays in the largest women’s tackle league, The Women’s Football Alliance (WFA), which has 52 teams across the country. They play under NCAA rules, with a few NFL rules added. During a game, Banks says, “You see everything you see in a men’s game.”
Banks, who is a founding member of the Dynamite and serves as both staff and player, has her sights set on good recruitment numbers this year. “We’re always looking. We want about 55 on the roster, and right now we have about 25 to 30. Word of mouth and social media have been big helps, and this year we also visited the Southeast YMCA where we met lots of athletes.”
Ages 17 and up are welcome, while players younger than 17 can join with parental consent.
Though feedback about the idea of trying out for the team often includes fears of injury, Banks says that in her 10 years of playing, she has not been injured and, in fact, she sees more people getting hurt in flag football.
“All their lives,” she says, “they’ve been told they can’t do it. They start to believe it. But it’s a great way to get aggression out. I always say, it’s a legal way to hit somebody without going to jail.”
Rookie Kylee Anthony (Handz) agrees. “These are very hard workers, they’re ready to compete, they’re ready to win. They’re ready to hit someone. They’re ready to go out and do damage.”
Veteran Tish Baker (Lil Baker), who started playing tackle with Banks on a previous WFA team, the Kentucky Karma, is also a founding member, board member and fund raiser. She also handles the team’s legal matters. “It’s fun. It was a challenge to prove people wrong. I proved that I can do it. It’s a stress reliever.”
The Dynamite coaches want women in Louisville to know that they don’t have to be experienced. Tryouts are held at least once a month. Keep in mind that the first game of the 2015 season is in April.
The team is also seeking a new home field after losing a setup at Holy Cross High School. Banks is disappointed in the lack of support in Louisville and fears she will have to go outside town, perhaps even to the Indiana side, to find a suitable location.
“People should know that this is larger than they might realize. It’s international,” says Banks. Most players, she explains, have full-time jobs. They’re mothers, lawyers, doctors. They practice multiple times every week and cover most of their own expenses, from uniforms to league fees. Donations to the non-profit team are tax deductible. You can also purchase season tickets at a very reasonable price on the Dynamite’s home page. And sponsorships are very welcome, benefiting the team and local businesses that want to get involved.
Are they serious? They are very, very serious.
Photos: Derby City Dynamite
