Belles of the football field are looking for Women's Football Alliance championship

After 8 years of coaching at Neumann-Goretti, Sytsma decided to try his hand with the newly reformed Philadelphia Liberty Belles, a women's semiprofessional football team.

"I didn't really know what to expect," Sytsma recalls. "A lot of people had questions when I first told them. They wanted to know what it is and what the game is like. I just told them to come out and see for themselves.

"They have all been pleasantly surprised."

Sytsma, who will lead his undefeated Belles (9-0) in the Women's Football Alliance National Conference championship game tomorrow in Kalamazoo, Mich., has been pleasantly surprised himself.

With a win tomorrow, the Liberty Belles will earn a spot in the national championship game in New Orleans.

"I'll admit that I was initially expecting a slower and less experienced level than the Catholic League," Sytsma said. "But I have been impressed how much the girls not only know the game, but how eager they are to learn.

"I run the team exactly like I would a high school team. We run a West Virginia spread offense and a bunch of different defensive schemes. The players pick up things pretty quick and they have a lot of talent."

The football is no joke, either. One of Sytsma's relatives who played against Chester native and current Chicago Bears running back Kevin Jones said that the Belles' Marirose Roach runs the same way as Jones.

Roach - who was recently named the WFA's National Conference rookie of the year - said playing for the Liberty Belles resurrected a lost dream.

She only played in four of the eight scheduled regular-season games but still broke 1,000 yards rushing on the season. She averaged 31.3 yards per carry to go along with 13 touchdowns.

"I always played Pop Warner when I was younger," Roach said. "I played football until I was 14 but I realized that there was no future in football for me. The players in high school and college were too big. It was just unrealistic for me.

"I played soccer and ran track at Temple, but football was just out of my mind. I played a little flag football. My experience has been nothing but positive."

For all players, playing for the Liberty Belles is a big-time commitment. The team usually practices three times a week in Northeast Philadelphia and has one film-study session. Most players, like Roach, try to hit the gym at least once or twice a week.

And despite the semipro tag, there are no player salaries.

But the Women's Football Alliance is taking off. The Liberty Belles began with the National Women's Football Association and Independent Women's Football League from 2001-2004.

This season, the WFA supported 34 teams in locations from Harrisburg to Las Vegas and Los Angeles and everywhere in between. They will be adding six teams in 2010. Some franchises draw about 3,000-4,000 fans per game.

One difference between the NFL and WFA is the size of the football. It's slightly smaller and easier to grip. The blocking, hitting and tackling technique is all the same.

Carol Grubb, who received WFA first-team All-America honors at linebacker, has seen all of the changes. She first joined the Belles in 2001 and was with the team when it won the NWFA's inaugural title that year. For that, her No. 51 was retired by the Liberty Belles on July 11. She leads the team with 44 tackles.

"I wasn't going to play this year," Grubb said. "I wasn't thrilled with them using the Liberty Belles name with all of the history we had. But I went to a scrimmage in Binghamton [N.Y.] and saw that the girls worked so well together as a team. That made my decision easy. We have good team chemistry."

Grubb enjoys the team's diversity. She is 45 years old and the team's youngest member is 25 years her junior. Sytsma said the team's professional endeavors include everything from a "lawyer to biochemist." Some players are still in college. Roach is trying to open her own law firm.

"We all grew up in different places," Grubb said. "We have different jobs. We're all at different places in our lives but we come together to practice and we all have the same goals." *