Let's make one thing clear - Jill Ottinger doesn't throw like a girl.
There's nothing too conspicuous about the 30-year-old Abington, Pa., native and professional chemist. That is, until she lofts a football and hits her receiver in stride.
Last Sunday, her venue was Drexel's Buckley Field, at tryouts for the Philadelphia Firebirds, a professional women's football team that competes in the Independent Women's Football League. Ottinger is a five-year veteran of the Firebirds and its incumbent quarterback.
Her experience with the team has been a unique one - few women can say they go from the office grind to the gridiron on a daily basis.
"It's been great, a definite adventure with the different people on this team, the different personalities," said Ottinger, an Alvernia (Pa.) grad who honed her passing skills on the softball diamond.
"It's really fun because we get to hit people, get a little bit of aggravations out."
Last season, the Firebirds were a part of the National Women's Football Association as the Philadelphia Phoenix. But they are now in the midst of an extreme transition. Not only did they move to a bigger league (think of an AFL-to-NFL move five decades ago), but they lost about half of their roster from last spring despite an undefeated regular season.
The open tryouts drew more than 20 women, a signal of this high turnover which is no doubt caused by the financial burden the sport can present. There is no paycheck involved, and balancing bi-weekly practices and weekly games with a full-time job is no easy task.
Despite what Ottinger called a "continuing struggle" to maintain a consistent roster, the game's allure still remains.
Gaddy Fortune, a 2007 Syracuse grad and standout midfielder for the Orange lacrosse team, turned to the Firebirds when she decided not to forego tryout for the U.S. lacrosse team.
"I grew up always playing football - always the one with all the boys," said Fortune, who hopes to play wide receiver or safety. "It was good to see a bunch of really athletic girls playing football."
By now, that novelty has worn off for third-year Firebirds coach Jack McKenna. A former quarterback at Springfield High School in Delaware County and a coach at Ridley, you can think of McKenna as Tom Hanks' character in A League of Their Own. An ex-player and a lover of the game, he now knows that the girls can play, too.
"I've got girls that are throwing the ball 60 yards, 70 yards," McKenna said. "It's fun because they don't have bad habits like you do with a lot of guys."
Judging from this weekend, the players' enthusiasm and coachability is off the charts. But even if the Firebirds fill out their roster as they expect to, emerging as a force in the marketplace and becoming a household brand is an uphill battle.
The Firebirds don't have any national sponsorships, but owner and former defensive lineman Tawana Grayson has spearheaded efforts to get the team's name out in the community. Such efforts have included participation in community events like parades, as well as an exhibition game during halftime of the Philadelphia Soul's 2007 season opener.
For Grayson, a materials manager by day, it's a tireless effort.
"Basically, from when I get home to when I go to sleep, it's focus on the team," she said.
The Firebirds' ultimate goal may be to follow the lead of other IWFL teams and net a sponsorship with a large media outlet like Comcast.
Such a partnership would significantly defray the financial blow for many of the players, and provide invaluable TV exposure in the process.
Until then, however, the Firebirds will make do with what they can, with one thing driving them.
"It is truly," Grayson said, "a labor of love."
