Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Maj. Jennifer Erickson, Commander, Charlie Company, 181st Brigade Support Battalion...... read more read more
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“Girls can't play tackle football.”
For Major Jennifer Erickson and Specialist Shaunya Kahananui, those were the words they grew up hearing — and believing — for far too long.
Both women loved the game of football. But for most of their lives, the opportunity to play the game they loved felt just out of reach.
This spring, however, both women are suiting up for the Seattle Majestics — the region’s premier women’s tackle football team and a proud member of the Women’s National Football Conference, competing in full-pad, 11-on-11 American tackle football.
"I was always told I could never play... until my senior year of high school,” said Kahananui, a supply specialist with 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation and a full-time member of the Homeland Response Force. “ I finally got to play tackle football, and it just lit a fire in me."
That year, she earned a spot on the varsity football team at Waianae High School in Wai‘anae, Hawai‘i. After graduation, she committed to Olympic College in Bremerton, where she played basketball and competed in track and field from 2021 to 2024.
That competitive spirit still drives her today. Now in her third season with the Majestics, Kahananui plays wide receiver and cornerback, regularly contributing on both sides of the ball.
“My first season was rough, I was the rookie learning everything,” Kahananui said. “But the team made me feel like family from day one. Now in my third year, I am much more comfortable.”
For Erickson, who is one of the older players on the team, the journey to the Majestic was vastly different.
"I am a little older, so I came from a time when girls couldn’t even play flag football," said Erickson, the commander of Charlie Company, 181st Brigade Support Battalion and physician’s assistant in her civilian capacity. “I found myself picking up flag football as an adult, even joining a men's league.”
Then, a casual conversation at a softball game changed everything.
“One of the girls was like, 'Oh, I play football — real football — for the Seattle Majestics. You should come out and try,’” Erickson said. “I was like, 'I'm in my 40s. I don't think so.’ But then she told me, ‘I'm older than you. If I can do it, you can do it.’”
That was the push Erickson needed to try out and make the team.
“Last year I was on crutches for nine months, so when tryouts came this year, I'd only been off crutches for four weeks,” Erickson said. “But I went out there and made it. That was my first time running again."
Erickson plays both defensive end and linebacker, despite being considered "a little small" for the position.
“I just want to be helpful. I'll play anything they ask — receiver, cornerback, wherever they need me,” Erickson said.
For both Kahananui and Erickson, being part of the Majestics feels a lot like being part of the National Guard: teamwork, camaraderie, and mental and physical toughness. The grind is real, two-hour practices on Mondays and Wednesdays, three hours on Saturdays, and defensive and offensive zoom meetings during the week. Full contact, full speed, every step.
“If you aren’t physically ready it will show and you will feel it," Erickson said. “Our coaches are incredible though. They don't just coach your skills — they coach your heart. If you show up, put in the effort, even if you're older or mess up, they see your fight.”
And that fight shows on game day.
“Our last game, I don't think the other team was ready for our speed and physicality," Erickson said. “We went full throttle from the first play to the last.”
Beyond victories and bruises, it’s the family atmosphere that keeps both soldiers coming back.
“You look around at practice and realize — somebody can name every single person on that field. That’s how close we are," Erickson said.
The team’s growing popularity only fuels their pride.
“I’ve seen Army friends I hadn’t seen in 10 years show up at our games, it’s incredible,” Erickson said. “People are picking up on it…I think we are on the cusp of something big."
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2025 16:58 |
| Story ID: | 494964 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | KENT, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 406 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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