Quarterback for Team Massachusetts will be only girl to compete in national championship
WORCESTER - A Worcester middle school had a spirited send-off for their fellow sixth grader as she becomes the only girl to compete at the U.S. Army Bowl All-Star Tackle Football Tournament next week.
"A lot of girls are like girly girls," 11-year-old Ariella Robinson told WBZ-TV.
But not Ariella. She traded in lip gloss and dolls or football cleats and shoulder pads - a sport she picked up from her three brothers.
"They helped me a lot because we played backyard football and they used to bully me for not being better than them," she said.
But not anymore! Ariella heads to Texas this weekend to compete alongside the boys at the national tournament. She'll be the only girl and starting quarterback for Team Massachusetts.
WBZ-TV had a surprise for the young athlete: a message from three-time Super Bowl champion and Patriots safety Devin McCourty.
"Devin McCourty here. I just want to say what's up to the Massachusetts All-Star team," said McCourty in a video played at Columbus Park Preparatory Academy in Worcester. "I just want to give a special shout out. Ariella - GO LEAD! Nothing better than seeing a team go out there and play good. And it starts with you - it starts with the quarterback."
Ariella told WBZ-TV, "It's really crazy that he wanted to reach out to us and me!"
It's a special moment for her parents who were beaming with pride at the assembly held for their daughter.
"Just the word typical. We can cross that right out," said her mother, Stephanie Wells. "It doesn't have to be typical anymore."
Ariella proves she can play alongside the boys. She has this message for her fellow athletes.
"Anything can be possible. If you can't be the one, beat the one," she said.
McCourty wished Ariella and her teammates luck ahead of their game in Texas on Tuesday.
"You leave as a team, you come back as a team. And why not come back as champs? Good luck, guys," he said.