The Women’s Football League Association (WFLA) is on track to become the first women’s football league to have both an Eastern and Western conference. The WFLA plans to launch on August 2020 with 32 teams and the funding to pay their players.
In preparation for their kickoff, they hosted their first scouting combine and jamboree on Saturday at the Dignity Health Sports Center, formerly known as the StubHub Center. The WFLA will host their first draft on August 31, 2019, at the MGM Grand Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.
At the combine, athletes when through drills like the 40-meter dash, the broad jump, and the three-cone drill. They also did drills specific to certain football positions.
“We’ve had 100 [athletes] that’s here registered, and they flown in from everywhere, as far as Australia,” said SHE beverage company CEO Lupe Rose, who created the WFLA and owns five teams. “It feels really good to have this many participants come out.”
Teams that Rose owns include the Los Angeles Fames, the Las Vegas Devils and the San Francisco Cranes.
The SHE beverage company is the mother company to the WFLA, the company believes in women’s empowerment. The WFLA is also aiming to offer the first mutli-million dollar contract to a women’s football.
NFL star Taryll “Big Tex” Robinson is working with the San Diego Waves and hopes to create a financial education program to help the players manage their money.
“There’s so many athletic women that don’t get a chance to showcase their athletic ability,” he said. “I want to be able to give back and just show that women can do the same thing men do as well.”
Athletes from the combine had various athletic backgrounds but shared a willingness to compete on field. Paige Robinson loved football growing up, but her mother would not allow her to play Pap Warner.
“I want them to see that I’m a hard worker, that I can play multiple positions and that I’m fast,” Robinson said.
Christina Shelby halted her powerlifting training and hired a coach to help her learn football drills to improve her agility.
“I hold the state national record for my deadlift,” Shelby said. “I’m actually in the middle of training for to set a world record for my deadlift.”
Drusilla Wastervelt played several sports including, volleyball, snowboarding, soccer, and basketball. The latter two help her play football.
“You’re actually bobbing and weaving and you’re doing a lot of the short stops and then soccer pretty much for endurance,” Wastervelt said.
Jordan Munford wanted to show the scouts how she can be a good leader and turned head with her speedy 40-yard dash. She is a hurdler who earned a scholarship at Oregon; he also played football when she was growing up.
“I’ve always dreamed of this, but I thought it would never happen. So, when I heard about it, I jumped on it,” Munford said. “I only had about four weeks to train for this.”
Former Clippers star Lamont Murray is on the advisory board for SHE and was impressed with the talent he saw at the combine.
“I’ve seen some fast girls so far, really athletic,” Murray said. “Fast women really serious about what they do.”
