Caroline Simpson is seventeen years old and was born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She moved to Denton, Texas when she was seven and has been there ever since. Simpson is currently in eleventh grade at Guyer High School, a 6A school. Her number one passion is football, but she also likes to explore outside and be with friends during her free time.
How did you become passionate about the sport of football?
I became passionate about football around fifth grade when I started watching football games with my dad. It’s the only thing I ever did on Sundays. My dad hit a rough patch in life, so I didn’t really have a father figure. During this time, I turned to the sport of football for comfort. I’d watch games on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I realized I wanted to play my eighth grade year when I turned out to be pretty good from what I taught myself.
Ever since then, I’ve been fighting my high school to give me a chance to play. I’m about to be a senior in high school and the new head coach at my school is willing to give me that chance!
Have there been times where you have lost your confidence and how did you get through those moments?
Yes, there have been times when I have lost my confidence. I felt like quitting. I felt like I was not good enough. Really what helped me through those moments was my love for the game of football.
I realized that I wasn’t going through all of this hard work and having all these people believe in me just for me to give up. I was not going to let that happen. I just pushed through and have continued to chase my dream.
Have people doubted your football skills because you are a "girl"?
Yes, they have. I had a bunch of guys at my high school going around telling everyone that I couldn’t play and that if I were to even be a part of the team, I would be giving the players water. People doubt my ability to be able to catch a ball with small hands or to be able to jump up and grab a ball on a high pass. They aren’t going to stop me from doing what I want to do. As a girl, wanting to play a skill position is tough. You have to fight for your spot on the team, but with hard work, I’ll get there.
What would you tell a girl that is interested in pursuing football, but is being told that it isn't a "girl" sport?
I would tell them to not let people’s opinions decide what you do. It’s your life, you should do what you want and if you want to play football, go for it. I really don’t think football should be considered a “mans' sport.” Women can do anything that men do. I stand by that. One thing I realized was that I always had football friends from other schools, but never really from my school. I had a coach come up to me and tell me that they were intimidated by me. He told me that the only reason they are rude and don't accept me is because they don’t want me taking their spot. If you work harder than they do and do your absolute best, you did your job.
They want to push you to the edge, make it to where they put you down and make you wanna quit, but you can’t let them defeat you.
Have you been judged on appearance rather than ability?
Yes!! When people first see me, they see me as a weak girl who is too small to do anything. They don't know what I’m capable of. I’m 5’1, 120 pounds, and I’m lightweight. They see me and they think, there’s no way. When I first met my football friends, I showed up to play and they doubted me. They only put me in to play with them because they were being nice and that’s when they saw that I had raw talent. They saw that I was capable of great things.
It's the best feeling in the world to know that people realize that you’re worth something.
What's your dream with football?
My dream is to play at a Division I college but I'm planning on going to a Junior College first. Great names in the NFL have started at a Junior College and then went Division I. It’s my senior year and it’ll be hard to have scouts look at me from a Junior College as a first year player, but if I work hard, I know I can get there.