Watching her son play high school football, Katisha Simpkins was just like any proud mother in the stands — except for one thought that kept running through her head.
“I’m saying to myself, ‘I know I could do that too,’” she recalls. “I’m like, ‘I could play that game for sure.’”
She was right.
At 44, Simpkins is a co-owner, coach and recently retired player for the Hampton Roads Lady Gators, a semi-pro, full-contact women’s football team that now has two seasons under its belt. Last season, the team — which plays home games at Norfolk Christian Schools in Norfolk, Va. — won the United States Women’s Football League’s Ironwoman championship, with Simpkins at center on the offensive line.
As the oldest of the 23 athletes on the 2018 squad — not to mention a mother of two and grandmother of three — Simpkins earned the nickname “Mom” for encouraging close bonds among her teammates. She credits the game with helping all of them gain physical and mental strength.
“It’s an adrenaline rush and stress relief,” she says. “Me, I love pushing people. You have to be in shape. You have to be up for a challenge.
Out on the field, I found all these other women who have the mindset the same as me, to be the best we can be. We feel we can do anything men can do.”
A muscular 5-foot-5-inch, 220-pound dynamo, Simpkins has loved sports since her childhood in Queens, N.Y. She grew up cheering for the NFL’s New York Giants and played basketball through high school. As a preteen, Simpkins picked up Double Dutch jump roping after spotting another girl practicing outside her building. She ultimately competed in world jump championships and also coached local kids after her 2003 move to Newport News, where she works as a marine painter for a shipyard contractor.
Once Simpkins caught the football bug from her older son, she tried out for a Richmond-based team but tore her meniscus and a ligament in her thumb in practice. “I felt that nobody cared,” she recalls. “So, while I was in the healing process, my partner and I thought it would be a good idea to start a team in Hampton Roads. We really did it for women’s empowerment.”
The interest level surprised her and the team’s co-owner and head coach, Sterge Evans. After posting a few notices on social media, they had 10 players at their first workout and 30 by their fourth, each paying registration and uniform fees. By the end of their first season, they had won six of their eight games.
Simpkins was an immediate leader, says Evans, himself a running back in high school: “What makes her a great player is her hard work and love of the game. Even with working full time, she finds the time to work out and train, perfecting her craft. She also shares what she has learned with her team.”
The Lady Gators have drawn athletes from many sports, including basketball, rugby, soccer and track. Many are not only football rookies but also juggle busy careers and families. “If you’re coachable and want to play and learn, we’re not going to turn you away,” Simpkins says. “I always tell people, ‘Just come out and try it.’ I’d say 90 percent of them come back.”
To keep everyone on a small roster healthy, the Lady Gators emphasize safe tackling techniques, up-to-date protective equipment and regular cardiovascular and weight-training sessions (Simpkins can bench press 145 pounds, while a linebacker teammate can lift close to 200). Simpkins also drinks plenty of water, although she admits to certain bad eating habits — such as a fondness for fried chicken.
Workouts are ongoing for the next season, which runs from March to July. Simpkins, who expects to have 35-plus players on the upcoming squad, is reluctantly stepping off the field to focus on administrative duties such as lining up more sponsorships for the team.
She is grateful that her sons Tylee, 25, and Tyshaun, 17, got to see her in action. Last season, Tylee, a star high school running back, helped out the team’s offensive coordinator, while Tyshaun cheered wildly on the sidelines — joined by countless other local boys and girls in the stands.
“I love that this is a sport for women where if you are strong and tough and driven, you can succeed,” Simpkins says. “Our job is to show people we can do whatever we put our minds to. It’s so much fun. Expect us to be around for many, many years.”