Powderpuff football has always been a huge thing at Chelsea High School, with many girls signing up to play. However, with only 8 people this year, the freshman team has been short in players compared to the other grades. Freshmen coaches Gibby Ichesco and Caden Basar have their concerns.

“Only having eight people will play a big role in stamina,” Basar said. “I’m concerned that people will get tired quickly and will slowly lose interest.”

Playing with eight people is already hard; what makes it harder is that they are in the freshman class. They have the least experience out of all the grades, putting a lot of pressure on the coaching staff to prepare them for the game.

“We’re just trying to figure out who works where,” Ichesco said. “It’s our first year participating, so we don’t have much of a plan; we just need to do what we know we can do. We have the skill to beat everyone; it’s just a matter of whether the girls are all in or not.”

While the freshman may have weeded out the best athletes in the grade, including two sports athletes, Aleeah Wells and Teagan Hill, it is hard to beat numbers even with skill. They have tried and tried to get more people to join, but they have been unsuccessful.

“Maybe people have extracurricular activities that would conflict with powder puff,” Wells said. “In reality, I think since we are freshmen, people don’t want to embarrass themselves in front of the school.”

The team is disappointed that so few people joined, but the girls still have confidence that they can win. While the coaching staff is nervous about the game, they still have high hopes of beating the competition. “Even if we don’t win, we are going to go out there and give 100% for all 30 minutes and have fun doing it.”