Black Widows prepare for new women's football season

Back in 2015 after moving to the Richmond region with her family, Sarah Schkeeper was looking for a way to relieve stress and find friends in her new home. She created a Meetup group online for women’s football, and afterward formed the Richmond Black Widows team.

The Black Widows now are part of the Women’s Football Alliance, which was created in 2009 and is the largest women’s tackle football league in the world. Richmond is just one of almost 60 teams within the league.

Sha Maclin, an outside linebacker for the Black Widows, saw Schkeeper’s Meetup group post and attended the team’s first-ever tryout.

“I kind of fell in love with it,” Maclin said. “I’m a sports person, I’ll play any sport and I had just moved here, so it sounded like a great way to meet new people and find friends here.”

In their inaugural season, the Black Widows advanced to the championship game and lost by only two points. In the years since, the Black Widows have been a constant in the WFA playoffs.

Last month, the team held its first tryout for the coming season; it also was the first time teammates had seen each other in person since their last practice in February.

Linebacker Missy Hunt was excited for tryouts, after having missed what would have been her rookie season last year because of COVID-19.

“We were so excited to finally get back out there for the first time in months,” she said. “I think we all tried to stay in shape the best we could through quarantine, but I was sucking wind within the first two minutes.”

Being a part of the team has given Maclin some great memories. Maclin said in her first ever game she got a sack and in that moment understood why NFL players get so excited.

Meanwhile, Schkeeper is not just the founder of the Black Widows – she also is a longtime veteran in women’s football. She has played more than 11 seasons in women’s football, including a stint on Team USA at one point.

“One of my favorite football memories is when I was on Team USA and we played Germany on the Fourth of July and we beat them 107-7,” Schkeeper recalled.

The Black Widows will hold their second tryout Saturday, Nov. 7, at Moody Middle School beginning at 9 a.m. It's open to the public. To learn more, visit http://www.richmondblackwidows.com.