The third annual Gridiron Gals Ladies Clinic at Oceanside Collegiate Academy on July 15 saw roughly 50 women learning the ins and outs of a high school football practice.
OCA Head football coach Chad Wilkes and his wife, Joy, led the ladies through a series of penalty demonstrations. Joined by the OCA Landsharks football team, the boys would run illegal plays to show what various penalties looked like and the corresponding signals from the referees.
“There's a lot of people out there right whose kids play sports that we go, we support our kids, and half the time we know the rules and half the time we don't,” Event coordinator Megan Hamilton said.
Joy Wilkes said many of the women at the clinic have sons who are playing football for the first time and might be unfamiliar with the sports jargon frequently tossed around. With football season right around the corner, the clinic gave the participants a rundown of the sport, so the first game won’t be so daunting.
“We're teaching them about rules so that Friday night can be a little more fun,” Wilkes said. “So they can enjoy watching on Friday nights and enjoy their son and him saying, oh, I rushed for 100 yards last night and she understands what it means and she can congratulate her son.”
Participants learned about nutrition, strength and conditioning, to better understand how a football player trains and practices throughout the season. Eventually, the ladies took to the turf to run through drills, toss the pigskin around and try their hand at tackling.
Hamilton said another important area of focus for this year’s clinic was women’s health. Participants were able to schedule a mammogram at the clinic.
“We thought it would be a great opportunity since we have all the women together to really help promote and support this and make sure that women are aware of how important these screenings are to get on a yearly basis,” Hamilton said.
The clinic also served as an opportunity for the women, nicknamed “Shark Mamas,” to get to know each other so that come football season, there will be familiar faces in the stands.
“We want them walking into the stands on Friday night and then they recognize almost everyone and they're waving and they have people to sit with, to laugh with, to tailgate with and be comfortable and get excited for Friday nights,” Wilkes said.
