Gridiron Girl

Photo by Niki Counce

The high school years can be difficult for some kids, trying to balance between school work, extracurricular activities, sports, a job, and trying to have a social life. For one girl, she had to try to fit in with a certain group in a way that most high school girls do not even think about. 

Alexandra “Ale’” Millison is a senior at Mannford High School. She is a member of the National Honor Society and the Spirt Club. She was named the 2016 Football Homecoming Queen. She plays soccer year around with the West Side Alliance soccer club and also coaches the Littles, a soccer team made up of two and three year olds. By all accounts, Ale’ is your average high school girl, except for one thing. 

Every Friday night in the fall, you will find Ale’ at every Mannford Pirate football game. She will not be found in the bleachers cheering on the team, or with the cheerleaders, keeping the crowd hyped. She’s not a manager for the football team getting water to the players and taking care minor injuries. 

No, during the football games, you will find Ale’ standing on the sidelines wearing shoulder pads, cleats, and her number six Pirate jersey. Ale’ is the kicker for the Mannford football team and has been since her freshman year.

Overall, in her high school career, Ale’ has hit 53 of 74 extra-point attempts. In her freshman year, she only played in three games, but connected on 13 of her 18 attempts. The following season, she hit 12 out of the 16 attempts. In her junior campaign, Ale’ nailed 12 of 17 attempts. With one game remaining in her senior year, she has made 16 of 23. 

Ale’ did not set out to join the football team because she wanted thought it would be fun. She and her family were outside playing around with the football. Her mother took some video of Ale’ kicking the ball with her phone which Ale’ took to school and showed to her science teacher Lance Hoggatt, who was also one of the coaches of the football team. 

Coach Hoggatt remembers what happened after he saw the video. “Her dad spoke to me about the possibility of her kicking for the high school football team. I went and watched her work out with her dad a few times after school. We didn't have a kicker at that time, a new head coach had just came in so I talked to him on her behalf and the rest is history”. 

While her parents support her, they had some reservations about Ale’ playing high school football. Her mom, Danika, knew there was the possibility that she could get hurt physically and possibly even emotionally. Her dad, Gare, who played college football at Kansas State, had a different view of things. “He told her that she should not get special treatment just because she was a girl”, her mom recalls. “He told her to be prepared for even her own teammates to not respect her because no one likes the kicker”. 

Even with the support of her family, coaches and teammates, it has not always been easy. She has dealt with harassment on the field as well as off the field leading up to games. “Opposing teams all treat me differently”, Ale’ said. “Some make harsh comments during warmups or when I am walking to the dressing room. I have had some harass me on social media the week before the game”. 

While some people may see it as a big deal for a girl to play football, Ale’ sees it differently. “To me, being a girl and making an impact in a guys sport is no different that a boy doing it. Sometimes it’s my fault we lose, just as it could be anyone else’s fault. It may make a difference to some teammates and fans, but to me, I am just another player on the field”

Ale’ hopes she is a role model for younger girls to follow the dreams that they have no matter what people say. “There is no better feeling that a young girl and her mother coming to watch me play and then asking me to take a picture after the game. The impact I make on the field is shown to me through the young girls being inspired”.