Capital Pioneers, Salem's women's tackle football team, undefeated before home games

When Becky Boehme started playing tackle football, her 16-year-old son begged her not to do it.

But now, says the 42-year-old mother of two, sport is a way to break the tendency of teenagers to give their parents only monosyllabic answers.

“I come home and ask him to help me with plays or explain what something means,” she said. They often talk about football for an hour.

She grinned as she changed for a recent evening practice on the McKay High School football field.

“I’m more athletic than they probably thought,” she said.

Boehme is one of about 30 women who make up the Capital Pioneers, Salem's women's tackle football team.

The Pioneers are part of the Women's Football Alliance, a semi-professional national association of 60 teams playing 11-a-side tackle football in three divisions.

Many said that sport was a way for them to relieve their stress.

“We can be aggressive and not go to jail for it,” said Willie Lee, 36, one of the team’s founding players.

The team is in the midst of its fourth season and has three upcoming home games at McNary High School on June 1, 8 and 15.

Kick-off is at 5:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 at the door and are free for children under 12.

The Pioneers have won three away games: They beat Central Valley Chaos in Bakersfield, California (7-0), Eugene's Oregon Cougars (41-0) and most recently Utah's Wasatch Warriors (21-6).

Salem's players are a diverse group, ranging in age from 18 to 40. The team was founded by players who met playing flag football and wanted to play on a local tackle team.

Kayla Hayden, 39, joined the Pioneers after moving to Salem at the start of the Covid pandemic.

“I was looking for a community again, for friends,” she said. “I found an ad on Facebook and the rest is history.”

Hayden is a horse rider and said that experience translates well to the football field.

“I've been thrown against walls by horses. Football gives me more cushioning,” she said.

Many players start without any sporting experience and only a few have played football before.

That means coaches are starting with a blank slate – which head coach Grant Carmichael says is rewarding.

“It's a whole new culture,” he said. “It's been challenging, but it's also been great to watch them grow.”

Andrea Cortes, 24, is a rookie lineman who enjoys watching NFL games. Her brother-in-law encouraged her to come to the tryouts, telling her, “You have the right attitude, you're tough.”

“It took all my strength to actually come to the tryout because I felt so intimidated,” she said. She almost turned around and went back to her car, but another player saw her and persuaded her to come onto the field.

“I'm really glad I did it because I really enjoyed it,” she said. Cortes appreciates that the players make time for the schedule – twice-weekly training plus traveling to games – and balance it with their parental responsibilities, jobs and other commitments.

The athletes said they struggle with stereotypes about women in soccer, with people assuming the team is a flag team or that the players wear lingerie.

But you can also see the impact the team has on young girls who attend the games.

“We had a couple of little girls come in … who were really excited about women playing football,” said freshman Kelsea Phillips, 32. “They don't have to be excluded from sports that are considered to be for boys or men.”

Before a recent practice, players taped their injured hands and looked at each other's worst bruises.

“Dude, my turf looks so good,” one athlete said to a teammate. The Pioneers are always looking for new players, as well as volunteers to help with administrative tasks and training. For more information on how to join, visit their website.

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

SUPPORT OUR WORK – To cover Salem with care, thoroughness, fairness and accuracy, we rely on subscribers. Subscribe today to receive our daily newsletters and more. Click “Subscribe”!

Rachel Alexander is the editor-in-chief of the Salem Reporter. She joined the Salem Reporter at its founding in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits, and a little bit of everything else. She has been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she is a skater and board member at Salem's Cherry City Roller Derby and is often engrossed in a book.