A Team of Their Own

Women's tackle football is returning to the South Puget Sound.

Michel Volk, Lakewood resident and Tacoma Police Officer, is recruiting interested players of all skill levels to join the Tacoma Trauma, a newly established organization recently accepted into the Women's Football Alliance.

Volk and a handful of others—some formerly with the Seattle Majestics team—are determined to bring football closer to home. Volk led the Majestics to six Pacific Northwest Division championships and multiple playoff runs. But when the team moved from Tacoma to Seattle several years ago, they decided to form a team of their own.

"We had to commute, then it got to the point where we wanted to bring it down south," Volk said. "We were spending a lot of time driving to Kent and Seattle and that gets pretty costly."

The Majestics relocated to Seattle because the fan-base was struggling. A group of local trauma doctors are sponsoring the team.

Hogate and Volk began putting a team together just a couple months ago. They conducted a preseason workout at Fort Steilacoom in Lakewood earlier this month. It's going to be a challenge filling 30 roster spots, Volk said, the minimum requirement according to the WFA.

She said ten people tried out.

With the team just getting started, the 33-year-old is simply doing what she loves as she enters her ninth year as a quarterback.

"No owners will be players," Volk said. "It's going to be good, competitive, real football. There's nothing like doing everything to helping your team win."

While she said it's a challenge spurring local interest to get women to play tackle football, she said its the same game with the same rules as men's football.

"We don't have physical abilities to run 4.4-second 40-yard dashes," she said. "It's a different finesse to the game."

The team's opening tryouts will take place in October. Volk expects to practice several times a week. They hope to secure fields like Mount Tahoma High, Stadium High or Clover Park's Harry Lang Stadium.

More than 60 teams across the country represent the WFA. Volk said there is a Spokane team and potentially a Shoreline-Seattle team that will be competing this spring. About half of their games will take place in nearby states like Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Nevada.

Tacoma Trauma women's tackle football team

Who can play: All skill levels are welcome including first-time football players.

Contact information: Team captain and quarterback Michel Volk at tacomawomensfootball@gmail.com.

League name: Women's Football Alliance

Cost: Roughly $1,000 that covers equipment and other fees not including airfare.

Tryouts: October

Number of games: 8-10