Pigtail-Wearing Pint-Sized Powerhouse On The Field

MIAMI (CBS4) – Football season is in full swing. Men and boys, young and old are playing the game they love from coast to coast.

But in South Florida an eight year old is making some people take notice. Not because of the age, but because this player wears pigtails.

Kathryn George is a typical girl, if typical means putting on the pads and mixing it up with the boys who are sometimes older and almost always bigger. During game time, she does whatever she can to protect the quarterback of the Key Biscayne Key Rats of the Miami Extreme Youth Football League.

"My favorite part is the games when I actually get to put people on the ground that are not my teammates," said George.

Coach Tony Goudie said she's the hardest worker on the team, she's a total team player and doesn't care about anything that involves her, she just wants to do what is right for the team. Goudie added that she always at every practice early and leaves late.

One would think that the toughest thing for George was to convince her parents to let her spend her Saturdays on the line of scrimmage. That however is far from the truth. In fact, her mother was all for it.

"I thought it was great because she had spent a lot of time a couple of seasons before on the sidelines when her brother was playing," said Laura George. "She would practice with the kids at the end and her coach saw her interest and encouraged her to try out."

Not only did she try out, she won a spot as the right guard of the Key Rats. This allowed her to go head to head with the boys who found out this pint sized powerhouse really packed a punch.

"Sometimes they make noises, they make noises saying they are going to beat men by a lot," said George, "But then I put them on the ground and sorta like 'don't look at me'."

Make no mistake, Kathryn is all girl and she's tried her hand at just about every sport there is.

"She played coach pitch baseball, she is on the soccer league, she plays basketball, she loves sports," said Laura George. "She used to do gymnastics and a little bit of ballet, we quickly took her out of that."

This will be Kathryn's last season playing football. The boys are getting too big. If she had her way, George said she would keep her hand in the game, not as a player but as someone who helps keep the game safe for everyone – male and female.

"I want to become a doctor for the NFL football players because, since I have experience with football, I know how bad it feels to not be in the game."