NORTH KANSAS CITY, MO (WDAF/CNN) – A young girl is making waves doing what she loves.
Neveah Spillman has been playing football since she was a toddler. Now she’s leading an otherwise all-boys team.
"I was kind of nervous in the beginning because I never really played for, like, a school team. I’ve always played for a different, like, league,” Neveah said.
Her talent overtook her nerves when she joined the Maple Park Middle School football team as the starting quarterback.
"[She’s a] good quarterback with an arm. She does have an arm. She can throw the ball," teammate Daivion Allen said.
Neveah started playing when she was 4 years old. Now 13, she’s a leader and the only girl on the field.
"Well, you have to take charge a lot,” she said. “Because you pretty much run the offense. So, you have to tell people their positions, what they need to work on, what they need to improve on – to get better."
Neveah’s response from her classmates and teammates has been positive.
"It doesn't matter if you're a boy or girl quarterback,” said Allen, who added all that matters is talent and what a player can do on the field.
“Neveah can do a lot on the field," he said.
Neveah said sometimes players on other teams are surprised to see her reveal the bouncy curls under her helmet.
"Well, I'll take my helmet off on the sidelines and after to shake hands and stuff, and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, that's a girl! Their quarterback is a girl,’” she said. “So, they're shocked, but I think they think it's cool that a girl plays football.”
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