LEONVILLE, La. — The game of football is changing, and gone are the days when boys ruled the field.
"Girls can play sports just as well as boys," said Jade Meche, the only female football player at Leonville Elementary for the Teche Gators.
"It has always been my favorite sport; I wanted to play football. I thought cheerleading was the closest I could be to a field, but I never wanted to do cheerleading," said Meche.
She says being the leading lady takes a bit of grit and guts.
"I did have to work harder and practice more, but I still get treated the same as the other boys," said Meche.
Football has always run in her family. She started watching the sport when she was only three years old. As she grew older, she developed a strong admiration for the New Orleans football team and their former star quarterback, Drew Brees. After years of watching games, the eighth-grader decided to do the unthinkable.
"This year, I had decided to try out for football to see if they would let me play, and I tried, and they let me on the team, and I was so excited," said Meche.
Blake Davis, her football coach, says she is tough and can hold her own on the field.
"She gets a lot of respect from the kids; she says something, they listen; if she tells them to be quiet, they are quiet," said Davis.
While she makes history on the field, the safety is keeping a family legacy alive. Her stepfather, CJ Dekerlegand, once played on the same turf wearing the same number 10 jersey 15 years ago.
"I wanted to have the same number he had. It was all about following in his footsteps, so I picked the number 10 as my number," said Meche.
On the football team, Meche leads the team's squad, hoping she can inspire other girls.
"I just boost myself with confidence; once I do that, I am ready to hit some people, and boy, I love hitting people, and I don't have to get in trouble for it," said Meche.
Meche is one of three female student-athletes in the Parish playing football, making history as the school's only active female football player at Leonville Elementary.
She says she plans to play for Beau Chene High School after middle school and make history again.
