Then played a couple years of little league. My problem with trying to play into Jr high & HS was simply size. I could totally compete playing running back and backup QB. But I stopped growing in about 6th grade and am only 5'1".

I've had guys I played with tell me I was the toughest kid on the team. They tell stories of calling out their son for saying a teammate plays like a girl using me as the example. Not sure about toughest kid. Probably just tougher than expected for a girl. My throwing motion was definitely not girl like.

Shortly after I married some nephews of my husband's side were playing catch (all very athletic big guys). The ball landed where I was sitting so they jokingly asked me to throw it back to the one furthest away. I told him to run a deep route and threw a great pass hitting him in stride. The next hour was spent with them laughing and having me throw in all sorts of situations. That is still a family story that comes up.

There's certainly something to learning the game early but nature will never create anything comparable to men's football. I imagine it would become something similar to softball & basketball with its own style and level of play. I still enjoy those sports but doubt I'd ever like watching it more than men's football. No reason to try and pretend they could be similar and shouldn't be expected to be. You just enjoy it for what it is and set the play standards appropriate for women.