Mom of six a hit on the field

2010-12-17 / Neighbors By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

Vanessa Fitzpatrick Tull is a football mom. The Camarillo mother of six— counting quadruplets—can often be found on the sidelines of football fields throughout the county.

Her oldest son, Nathan, 16, plays for Oaks Christian High School, while her 11-year-old son, Adrian, plays on the middle school team. What’s more, two of her four 6-year-olds, Daniel and Hannah, play football, while the other two, Katherine and Samantha, are cheerleaders.

But standing on the sidelines is not what makes Fitzpatrick Tull a football mom. It’s the fact that the 42-year-old actually plays the game herself.

In 2009, Fitzpatrick Tull began playing for the Ventura Black Widows, a local semipro football team made up of women from Ventura County. The team is one of 18 from across the U.S. that make up the Women’s Spring Football League.

“I like doing things that are a little bit extreme,” Fitzpatrick Tull said. “I’m a little bit of an adrenaline junkie.”

Looking for a way to release the stress that comes from being the mother of six children—four of whom are in first grade—and for a new adventure, Fitzpatrick Tull decided to try out for the team that will begin its third season in the spring.

“It was taking on something new, learning it and then excelling at it,” said Fitzpatrick Tull, who said she didn’t follow football until her oldest son began playing five years ago.

Although she’s 5 feet 6 inches tall, Fitzpatrick Tull plays center on the offensive line, a position usually reserved for someone much bigger.

“I’m a regular-sized gal,” she said. “I’ll go up against gals who outweigh me by 100 pounds. That can be a little unnerving . . . but if you stay low and use your leg muscles, you can handle it.”

Ahmad Newton, the team’s owner, said Fitzpatrick Tull wasn’t expecting to play on the offensive line, but she has proved she has the coordination and tenacity to match up with larger opponents.

“She didn’t know much about being a center, and now, all of a sudden, we cannot move her from center. She has taken ownership of the position,” Newton said.

Fitzpatrick Tull said the physical aspect of football didn’t keep her from the sport, and she saw playing as a way to challenge herself.

“When you get tackled, it’s almost like being in a car accident,” she said. “When you get tackled over and over again all practice long, you build up a resistance to it eventually, but that process is physically grueling.”

Newton said there are some women who try out for the team not completely understanding what it means to play the contact sport.

“Some women have the misconception that this is powderpuff football, and it’s not that,” he said. “It’s full-tackle football.”

Fitzpatrick Tull said playing football makes it easier for her to empathize when her children come home after a difficult football practice.

As for injuries, Fitzpatrick Tull said she’s only suffered “your standard bumps and bruises and rolled ankles.” She added, “If you play right, you don’t get injured.”

She said her husband, Don— an executive with a software development company—supports her decision to play on the football team, which typically practices Saturday and Sunday mornings. The team begins practice in a few weeks.

Tull said she is running to get herself in shape for the upcoming season that begins this spring.

“They are calling me one of their veterans, which is so cool because I feel like I have so much more to learn in the sport,” Fitzpatrick Tull said. “I’m going to do it for as long as I physically can.”

Black Widows owner seeks
more women to play football

Author: Rich Romine • rromine@VCStar.com • Section: Sports

The Ventura Black Widows are looking for a few more good women to play football this season. Team owner Ahmad Newton was watching the women practice on Saturday at Ventura Community Park. The team played its first game at Selland Arena last year in Fresno, using a combination of players from several teams. “We’re too small and we need bodies,” said Newton. He has sent letters to all the Ventura County high schools requesting girls 16 and older to have a parent sign a permission slip to become football players for the 2010 season. The Black Widows will open the season with an eight-man football scrimmage in Las Vegas against the Showgirlz on March 20. Newton started in women’s football three years ago with the Los Angeles Amazons in La Puente. He was an intern learning the ropes of running a team. This season, he has two players from Santa Maria and the 13 others hail from Ventura County. Newton said the Black Widows will travel to Boise, Idaho, on May 1, and Boise will visit the Black Widows on Memorial Day Weekend. Teams from Topeka, Kansas, and Pittsburgh, the Steel City Renegades, will come to Ventura County to face the Black Widows.

The Topeka game will be played on July 24. To join the Black Widows, call Newton at 652-1460 or visit the team Web site at http://www.blackwidows.football.com.Camarillo’s Adah Munoz, 21, always wanted to be a football player. “I saw the ads in the paper,” said Munoz, a fullback, tailback and defensive player. The 2006 Oxnard High graduate played three years in the Yellowjackets water polo program. Regina Barnnock, 39, of Ventura, played softball at age 12, but has learned to play linebacker, quarterback, wide receiver, special teams and long snapper. Barnnock remembers last season’s first game and the scuffle soon after kickoff. Barnnock said the team has committed to play. “It’s a lot of fun,” she said. Barnnock has two daughters, her 4-year-old Aja Madrigal is anxious to be a football player. Barnnock’s 21-year-old daughter Cherelle Velasquez attends Chico State, but was a pitcher for the Hueneme softball team. Barnnock encourages women to get in the huddle.

“You don’t have to have experience,” she said of how the coaches Mike Otani and Jeff Pardee can teach the skills needed to play. Ventura’s Denise Hamilton joined the Black Widows two months ago. She’s a recreation football and basketball player from Santa Clara High. With all the talent on the field this season, there’s a lot of excitement.

“I’ve seen real improvement,” said Munoz. Erika Caballero of Ventura announced she will be the team mom. Ventura’s Lisa Lerma made her debut on Saturday as quarterback.

Lerma, 26, played basketball at Santa Clara. Lerma showed she can throw a spiral and keep the ball and run. Stephanie “Shorty” Weinberg is a running back from Santa Maria who can play any position. Weinberg has been playing women’s football for nine years. She was an all-around athlete at Righetti High in volleyball, basketball, softball and track. Copyright, 2010, Ventura County Star Record Number: 249209

CAPS TV 6 TO TELEVISE VENTURA BLACKWIDOWS GAMES.

Check back for further details.

INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S TACKLE FOOTBALL CLASS!

It's one of the fastest growing sports in the world, with more than 130 teams through the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico and through Europe. Enroll in this new lecture/discussion class to learn about women's tackle football terminology, the rules of the game, why the referee throws the yellow flags and much more! NOTE: A weekend parking permit is available for this class.
Sat., September 18 9:00am - 12:00pm
V.C., 71 Day Road (ICPD Bldg.), Telecenter Room
Ahmad Newton $49.00
for more info www.communityed.venturacollege.edu

Widows in the making

Local women try out for ventura County's first female full-contact football team

By Michael Sullivan 07/17/2008

Although many people were rolling over in bed on Saturday morning, July 12, six women — some of them single mothers — were on a mission. Instead of sleeping in and having a lazy morning as many Americans prefer, these women were trying out for Ventura’s first female full-contact football league, the Black Widows.

This was the second time Ahmad Newton, owner of the Ventura team for the National Women’s Football Association, held a tryout but, unlike the first in April, this time women showed up. One of them, Aretha Vines, 40, of Oxnard even skipped work to get there.

“I wanted to do this,” said Vines, who used to be on a woman’s traveling softball team and missed playing team sports. “I just thought, ‘What can I do to go to this?’ ”

Vines was not alone in her desire to join the team. These women all had different reasons for wanting to join.

Full Article

It may not have been what Ahmand Newton was hoping for, but he focused on the upside.

Newton, the President and Owner of the Ventura Black Widows, a hopeful expansion team of the National Women’s Football League held tryouts on July 12th. and 20th

The league, which is comprised of 40 teams from across the country, is a full contact tackle football league for women over the age of 18. The league, formed seven years ago and headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. runs an 8 game league schedule from the second week in April through July, including playoffs, which Ventura is hopeful to join for the 2009 season.

Although Newton was encouraged by the second tryout session on July 20th, additional tryouts will be scheduled for those ladies willing to strap on the pads. The league has a minimum player requirement of 35 players on the roster, which is his first concern. Lack of interest doesn’t seem to be a problem, according to Newton who has had numerous calls and emails regarding the team.

" This is Football 101, we start from the basics because most of the ladies that come out don’t have any experience. We stress safety. We want all of the ladies to be successful".