“Sport needs women who can be an example”: Marlén Garces, the Mexican who trains with former NFL players

With a 10-year career playing equipped football, Marlén Garcés became the first woman to train with a team belonging to one of the two professional leagues in Mexico, as the Mexico City Reds team opened her the space that has historically been dominated by the presence of men.

The spaces for American football in Mexico have transformed in recent years from only having student and amateur leagues, but these spaces have been restricted throughout history to focus on the presence of men in their teams.

Marlen talked to Infobae México about the path she has taken to become the only woman among the more than 50 members of Rojos, between foreigners and former NFL players; in addition to sharing her opinion about the presence of women in the spaces of this sport in the country, and talking about her plans, because aspires to continue setting the tone by becoming the first coach.

In addition to training with Reds, Mel is also part of Pumitas, a team of women who face each other equipped in an amateur league, and which emerged after the rise in popularity that led to the success of the women's team in the 2017 world cup, which they arrived as unknown and without place in the ranking, but that managed to surprise and place third in the standings by taking third place in the competition.

“I have been playing American equipped for about 10 years. I played flag for a couple of months too, and there I met a coach who invited me to play on a fully equipped team, but I was very far away because I was in Lomas Verdes and I live in Aragon,” he said.

“I have a long way to go to training and I declined the offer. But then he came back and told me that they were going to start a team in Vocational No. 10, which is in Oceania, and it is closer to me, he said: 'Why don't you go try it? ' And that's how I started training, in a new team where they were all rookies,” Marlen continued.

In elementary school, Mel was part of the basketball team, later he joined football and volleyball teams in high school and university, but no sport filled her like the American one, because her dedication to the American team has led her to command one of the teams of the women's national team, which she is looking for represent at the next World Cup to be held at the end of June in Finland.

After his time with several amateur teams, Marlén contacted Raúl Rivera, former head coach of Pumas C.U., of national teams, and current coach of Rojos, who welcomed him into the team that will start competing in the Mexican American Football League (FAM), in which like the Football League American (LFA) professional players compete for the title once a year.

The recent creation of these leagues has been the result of a long tradition of this sport in the country, as Marlen said:

“As you enter the world of the American you realize that it is a very familiar environment. That is, many people practice American because their brothers, dads and even their grandparents played several generations ago. It is a tradition of many years and it has been contagious since they are in the grandstand watching their family member, I have seen how the little brother of one of the players says: 'I want to play too', this is how the chain is made and a great tradition is formed”.

Despite the fact that spaces for the American have become part of the daily life of many Mexican families, the places to play it have always been opened only to men, as this has been determined by culture over time.

“I think that women have certain limitations learned, because if you are a woman and you like football, you start out as a cheerleader, and if you are a little more winnowed, you jump into the flag. For us that has meant being part of the game,” said Marlen, and went on to point out the clichés that are part of the relegation of women in this sport:

“When you see an equipped women's team, the first thing you say is 'they're tomboys, ''they're really big,' they're very chubby ', 'they're very whatever,' there are a lot of prejudices that you don't take away until you go and see that the reality is different in women's football.”

Marlen says that the barriers are self-imposed because, after joining training with a men's team, one might think that he could suffer relegation, but he has been treated as another element, without discrimination or special treatment: “They haven't told me 'don't do that exercise' or 'do another', I always do what everyone does and same level”, he said.

Although he has not noticed differences in treatment, he does feel them in the intensity of the workouts, since he states that “it is different physically, because men have more speed, power and have much more strength. It's a bigger effort that demands more from you than you can express yourself in the women's team, because there you fall into a certain comfort zone, and maybe you need that extra demand to get more motivated.”

Marlen plans to dedicate himself to American football in the country for a few more years and then close his career as a member of a team outside the national territory.

“I was training once on a team in Los Angeles, but it was temporary because I had to train for the 2017 World Cup. Despite that, I would like to live that experience of playing in another country, I would be very cool,” he said.

Another of her goals is to become a coach, since she believes that the presence of women in this sport should be not only wearing shoulder pads and helmets, but in managerial positions.

“One of my goals, and I was just discussing it with a friend, that we need women coaches, we need coaches who understand how women work because the cars that are out there right now are used to dealing with men, and they are very different from women, because maybe we can do the same things, but we have needs different”.

Marlen has witnessed that the presence of women in this sport is increasing, as they themselves have made their way little by little, and they must demand a presence at all levels of the game.

“I think this is the first litter that is coming out of football and I am sure that there are excellent athletes, and very good women who can pass on their knowledge because they are integral people, because that is exactly what is needed in sports, women who can be an example, not only on the court, but even you you can see her as an admired figure and you can say 'yes, I'm going to do what you tell me confident'”.

Rojos CDMX will begin their season against Tequileros in the country's capital; and although the roster is not yet confirmed, several foreign players are expected to attend, as well as Mauricio, Tyson Lopez, who played in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, and was part of the Los Borregos team of Tec CEM.

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