Former UTA player aims to improve women's football

Black and the Diamonds (6-0) head to Houston this Saturday, June 6^th to take on the Energy (2-4). For more information on the Diamonds visit www.dallasdiamondsfootball.com and www.iwflsports.com .

Stay inspired,

Diamonds Remain Undefeated (5-0)

  (Laura Walton, Diamonds Media Relations Director contributed to this article)

Garnering the attention of a heavyweight fight, the Dallas Diamonds’ (3-0) match-up with the Atlanta Xplosion (3-0) put two undefeated teams to the test. Only one team came out on top keeping their playoff hopes alive. The Diamonds did not go down.  

Two plays into the second series, Diamonds RB Odessa Jenkins scored with a 50 yard TD run putting the World Champions on the board first. Emily Tidwell added the extra point to make it 7-0. “They played very physical ball,” said Jenkins. “We knew we had to execute well no matter what they tried to throw at us.”

Closing the first quarter, Danilynn Welniak anticipated the opportunity to deliver her own punch. Sustaining a broken leg in last year’s game against Atlanta, Welniak hauled in a pass from QB Monica Foster to put the Diamonds up 20-0. Dallas attempted the 2 pt conversion but came up short.

The humidity and the heat of the Georgia night knocked several players off the field with cramps. An undetermined medical issue also took Diamonds star Kicker Emily Tidwell out in the second half. After tests at a local hospital, Tidwell was released.

The Diamonds (4-0) retained the title belt and shook off any doubts they are the top team to beat in the IWFL South Atlantic Division.

Defensively, the Diamonds kept the hits coming and provided key plays that snuffed out any attempt by the Fuel to make a move. Jennifer Ferrell and K. Spain each recovered a fumble and Brydson and KB Bowman each made an interception.   

Including a safety, the Diamonds (5-0) piled on the points. The final score 64-0 kept the Champions undefeated. Next up for Dallas, the Miami Fury (4-1) who come off a loss to Atlanta. Nonetheless, this should provide fans with a good competitive game. Kickoff is Saturday, May 30^th at 7:00pm at Pennington Field.

Check out the replay of Dallas Diamond games at
www.dallasimedia.net  throughout the week.

Stay inspired,

Kip #45 

When playing football, nothing compares to a blind-sided hit. With target in sight, you take a good pursuit angle. You believe you are doing what you need to make a great play for your team. Then WHAM…you are hit! You come face to face with turf faster than a bar of soap slipping out of your wet hand. And, while you prepare for taking and giving hits, getting blind-sided is different and often painful. Sometimes, bad news in life hits you like a blind-sided tackle. While you know the possibility exists, you are not prepared when it comes.

So without sugar coating it, here’s the bad news I received the other day at practice:  About $2500 in partnership money I counted on will not go towards my pay-to-play requirement for the Diamonds.  Now that we are in mid-season, it is critical I secure at least $500 in the next two weeks or I will not be able to play nor travel with the team.

As you may know from reading this blog, in order to play women’s tackle football, players must raise their own sponsorship dollars. The money goes towards our uniforms, equipment, and travel.

Clearly, the economy impacted partners this year. Last year, my fellow Frisco teammate and I raised $11,000 for the team. This year, I currently sit at $500. The loss of the $2500 devastates my ability to travel and play this year.

Hence, if THIS BLOG benefited you in some way and helped you know about the Dallas Diamonds, I humbly ask you to give whatever amount you deem appropriate, whether it’s $1, $10, $25, $50, $100, or even $500.

This is not something I like to do, but I wish to finish strong this season. And, I know my teammates aim to bring Dallas another World Championship title. We DRIVE FOR FIVE!

Here is a link to the Football Chick Football Fund where you can make your donation through a secured Paypal transaction. Click here to donate and know I am deeply appreciative:  

Stay inspired,

Kip #45

Face to Face with the Inspiration of Generations

Growing up in Watts in South Central Los Angeles, Diamonds All-Star RB Odessa Jenkins learned to impact lives for greater good at an early age. During the week of her 12^th birthday, Jenkins watched the Rodney King riots outside her window. For six days, she and her family stayed in the house horrified by what she describes as a war movie. “We lived about 5 miles from where Reginald Denny was almost beaten to death, so we were in the midst of the commotion. I was a pretty intuitive kid, so I understood what was going on, but what I could not understand, is why no one was there to help my community.”

In the midst of the most devastating social uprising of the decade, Jenkins vowed to be the kind of person who helps rather than destroys,  “Those six days of isolation taught me how the determined few can impact idle masses. From that moment on, I decided to be one of those determined few. Instead of using my influence to hurt, I would always be one who would try and help. To this day, I shine a light of hope and perseverance. Because of this experience, I will always try and have a positive impact on the lives that I touch.”

By age 16, Jenkins worked at LAX as a TSA Agent. And after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where she played basketball, she recruited athletes for her university. She says she loved this job because it allowed her to be a part of changing families for the better, “Every kid that I recruited was special in her own way. Most of the kids I worked with never understood where my passion came from, but to me giving someone the opportunity for a free education was like giving them a new life. For few of them, like me, college was a generational ‘hallelujah’ moment. Education was the vehicle which changed the path of their family.”

Jenkins breaks the mold of a young person growing up in Watts. She earned her degree in Sociology with a minor in Criminology. She now takes her desire to impact lives to her job as an Account Manager for Medco, a prescription benefits company based in Irving. In her third year in the National Accounts Division, Jenkins controls and manages benefit plans that effects millions of people and billions of dollars. “I got into health care because I have a mother who has been ill my whole life and dealing with not having insurance. Being in a business that helps people get their benefits at a lower cost is something I really pride myself in. It’s a big deal to help people afford something that I believe should be a basic right.”

“If you work,” Jenkins says, “you should have health care. I don’t believe in nationalized health care, however, but general maintenance health care that should be available to everyone.” Sadly, she notes, “We are not anywhere close.”

Believing her drive to transform lives is a calling from God, Jenkins brings that mantra into each aspect of her life from family, to work, to the football field. Her Diamonds teammates elected the 2^nd year RB as Captain for the 2009 season. “If I can reach one person on this team or another team, and they can feel like they can do something they did not think they could do previous of knowing me, then I’ve reached my goal,” says the new Captain. Holly Headen, Offensive Guard for the Diamonds holds Jenkins in high esteem, “She is always positive. It does not matter if the play was good or bad, she says to shake it off and get on with the next play. And, she is never down. She encourages us to always do our best.”

Jenkins played football in a small league in California prior to her move to the Dallas area. When she arrived in the LoneStarState, she googled ‘women professional football’ and found the championship Diamonds. “This is an opportunity for a female to express pure aggression and not go against society’s standard, and that’s why I love it. It allows me to do something society says is something unnatural for a woman. I love the physicality of football. No other sport can a woman be so physical and have so much finesse at the same time.”

Jenkins walked home with a Championship ring last year when the Diamonds beat the Chicago force in overtime 35-29. Playing in the title game was a dream come true. And, as a strong leader of influence, she gives the credit to her team, “I have played many championship games in my sports career, but nothing could compare to the will and power that exuded from my teammates on that day. (Jessica) Spinger and KB (Bowman) are two of the most amazing athletes I have ever come across. To play on the field beside them, in the most important sporting event of my life, was like playing a game of 1 on 1 with Kobe. I feel blessed to have gone to the Championship game, and feel destined to have won it!”

The All-Star RB takes the field next Saturday, May 16 at Pennington Field in Bedford. Kickoff against the Louisiana Fuel is 7:00PM. Tickets start at $7 for kids, $10 for adults. Children 5 and under are free. Fans are invited down the field after the game for photos and autographs.

For more information, visit www.dallasdiamondsfootball.com

Stay inspired,

Kip #45

After playing in the game against Shreveport, I stood in line at Rudy’s at the Diamonds’ after party ready to pay for my meal. I turned to my teammate Gaby and it happened. No one saw it, but I felt it. I rolled my ankle...SNAP, CRACKLE, POP!

How many times do you do that and it’s no big deal? It hurts for a second. You shake it off. It’s no big deal. Well, this roll actually hurt. I winced but quickly regained composure and bushed it off. I walked to the table to eat with a normal gait but knowing I aggravated the ankle. I just did not think it was that bad.

Just an hour or so later, I took my shoes and socks off and gasped at the site of my ankle. It was HUGE! It was swollen two or three times it’s normal size.

Lauren Kitching, the Diamonds Trainer, looked at it and said, “You’d been better off if you broke it. It’s sprained Kip and it will be 6-8 weeks.” “What?”, I said. “You can’t be serious!” But, she was not joking.

I played an entire Championship season with only a broken finger. Everyone playing football gets one of those. I endured exhaustive workouts and training during the off-season, managed to get through pre-season and the first three games injury free. And then, while standing in line at a restaurant, I sprain my ankle. How does this happen? For real? I’m laughing and crying all at the same time.

CFL Grey Cup Champion and my friend, Kenyon Rambo claims there is no way I did that standing in line, “Kip, you had to have done in the game and did not know it. I’ve done that and then the next day I realize it.” Rambo attended the game and he contends it happened in the only tackle dog pile I was in that night. Then, he says, when I turned in line, it snapped. “There is just no way. You are too athletic to have done that. You had to have done it in the game.”

Sunday morning I woke up to intense throbbing pain. My ankle, still swollen, turned blue and purple in places. Wednesday, still swollen and a nice Diamond-isk color, I went to Dr. Bruce Douthit. Yep, a 2^nd degree sprain. He gave me two options for recovery…to play or not to play.

Option one puts me into aggressive rehabilitation now for the next 3 weeks and back on the field with a good tape job. With this option, however, my ankle will never be the same. I will lose elasticity and it will be forever weaker. Option two puts me out at least 6 weeks for total rest and rehabilitation. My ankle should recover with full strength and retain ligament elasticity.

Ugh…what a choice. If I take the time to recover, the season is essentially over aside from playoffs. But my ankle should be 100%. If I can get back for the remaining games, I have the chance to play more against the Tier II teams and give our veteran 1^st string a chance to rest and heal for the playoffs! We need them strong and healthy for that after this last battle against Atlanta when some of our players received battle wounds.

Since day one of starting my football career, I’ve said, “if my sole job is to make the veterans better, than that’s what I’ll do.” I’ve also maintained the position of giving 100% whether that’s off-season, pre-season, or during the season - discipline and commitment to being the best I can be.

So far, my best puts me second string and starting special teams. That’s okay. Given the talent of our first string, I see quite a bit of play time and I’m thrilled to be out there at all! And, while many of my contributions to the team have come off the field and behind the scenes, I want to contribute on the field. I believe I can if I can play against the Tier II teams and give our seasoned vets time to heal for the playoffs.

My choice, hence, is aggressive rehab for the next 3 weeks and a good tape job. We have a bye this next weekend. That’s good for all of us at this point in the season!