Bristol Girl Joins Male-Dominated High School Football Team

Kiaira Smith remembers growing up playing football with her brother in their backyard in Bristol Borough.

Whether rain or snow, Smith was competitive with her sibling and she would spend hours playing the sport.

Four years ago, that same competitiveness finally pushed her to play the male-dominated sport on a real football team.

Now, at age 14, Smith is playing football at Bristol Borough High School. At a recent practice at the school, Smith could be seen running pass patterns and joking with her teammates next to the water coolers.

It’s something she was passionate about accomplishing, she said.

“No reservations: I knew from the jump that I wanted to play football. Once I put my mind to something I’m going to do it,” Smith said.

And she is not alone. During the 2018-2019 season, 2,404 girls played 11-man tackle football on boys teams at the high school level, according to the National Federation of State High Schools Association. That number was more than was ever recorded by the association.

Smith said she has even started to see girls working out with Bristol’s middle school football team.

“I was like ‘did I start this’ because I thought I’d be the only one, but that’s really cool. [These girls] know that football is not just for guys, it can be for girls too. If they think they can do it then they can do it,” she said.

Ana Rosado, Smith’s mother, said she was hesitant when her daughter asked to play the sport. But her daughter’s perseverance finally convinced her. While she has seen her daughter take some hard hits during games, it makes her proud every time she gets back up.

“Just seeing how strong she is makes it totally worth it,” Rosado said, “And I think it’s becoming the norm. Showing that she can go out there and prove herself, it shows other girls who may be hesitant to play the game that they can do it too.”

For Bristol Borough Head Coach Mike Ciotti, he said he doesn’t even notice that he has a girl on the team.

Ciotti said he was impressed when Smith came out to train and work out over the summer, he said she comes to every practice ready to play.

Smith is currently in the starting rotation at kicker but also plays wide receiver, linebacker and special teams.

“She’s committed and works hard. It’s her first year but hopefully she sticks around for some more years,” he said. “We don’t treat her any differently. She’s been around playing in the community her whole life and that helps, and her teammates treat her just like anybody else.”

For Smith, she has some lofty goals for her future in the sport (she wants to play college football at Auburn University), but for now she just plans on keeping her grades up and establishing a highlight reel.

In their last game, Smith took a block in the back and hit the ground hard. Her mother was videotaping the game in the stands and her coach was looking on from the sideline.

To no one’s surprise, Smith got right back up.