She is a teacher by day and plays defensive line for the Utah Falconz at night and on weekends.

On this episode of the Supercast, meet West Jordan High School business and financial literacy teacher Makayla Brown who has a passion for playing women’s tackle football in the premier semi-pro league. Hear how this teacher balances her time in the classroom with her love for being on the football field taking on teams from all over the country, part of the Women’s National Football Conference.

Audio Transcription

Makayla Brown:
When I heard about the Falconz, I moved to Utah and this is my fourth season with the Falconz and it's a lot of fun. It's a great sport, great community. I honestly think the mental aspect is sometimes harder than the physical, but it's definitely taught me resilience, how to problem-solve, how to navigate challenging situations, and I feel like sports can be implemented in many walks of life.

[Music]

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She is a teacher by day and plays defensive line for the Utah Falconz at night and on weekends. On this episode of the Supercast, meet West Jordan High School Business and Financial Literacy teacher, Makayla Brown, who happens to have a passion for playing women's tackle football in the Premier Semi-Pro League. Hear how this teacher balances her time in the classroom with her love for being on the football field, taking on teams from all over the country as part of the Women's National Football Conference.

[Music]

Anthony Godfrey:
We are here at West Jordan High School talking with a teacher who also happens to be on the Utah Falconz football team. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your involvement in the team.

Makayla Brown:
Hi, I'm Makayla and I'm a teacher here at West Jordan High School. This is my first year here. I play for the Utah Falconz. I've played defensive end, middle linebacker, and a little bit of offensive guard. This is my fourth season with the Falconz and it's a lot of fun. It's a great sport, great community, great team. They've really become my family.

Anthony Godfrey:
And to clarify, you go by Mack, and the Falconz go by Falconz with a Z at the end. So let's just clarify all that. Is that right?

Makayla Brown:
That's right. That's correct.

Anthony Godfrey:
Mack, tell us about, for those who are not football fanatics, tell me about the responsibilities in the positions that you play on the Falconz.

Makayla Brown:
Yeah, so defensive end, your job is containing that outside edge. Also looking for the quarterback, the possibility that you could hopefully sack the quarterback, that's one of the main positions there. Middle linebacker, you're protecting that middle field, watching for runs, and shutting down those, making big defensive stops when possible.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me, what do you love most about playing for the Utah Falconz?

Makayla Brown:
I would say what I love most is just the community that it brings. I moved here from Virginia, and I didn't have any family or friends here. And within one practice, I made a whole family of over 30 girls that support me, and we just have each other's backs, and it's just become like a really big family, and we're just all super involved. I think also just being able to continue my athletic career. I played softball in college, and after that I was just wanting to do something else. When I heard about the Falconz, I moved to Utah and it's been a blast.

Anthony Godfrey:
So did you move to Utah to play on the Falconz?

Makayla Brown:
I did, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, that's awesome. Tell me about that. How did you find out about the Falconz, and that's a big leap. I've lived here for a long time, so it's really interesting to think that you'd say, "Alright, I'm going to move, I'm going to do this."

Makayla Brown:
Yeah, it was definitely a big leap for sure. I found out about it. A girl I played softball with in college. I happened to see one of her Facebook posts one day, and she had posted that she was on this women's professional tackle team, and I instantly sent her a message and asked like, "How do I join? I would love to be a part of it." And she told me to come to Utah and come to tryouts, and so over the summer I applied for jobs and luckily landed a job here with Jordan School District. I moved out here in August and I tried out in October and made the team and I've been with the team ever since.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, that's awesome. So was that your first football tryout when you came out here to try out for the team, or had you played football before?

Makayla Brown:
It was my first official tryout. In high school, I played like powder puff or flag football but nothing super formal so that was like the first.

Anthony Godfrey:
And not tackling taking people to the ground either?

Makayla Brown:
Yeah, no that was completely brand new. Definitely a steep learning curve. I had a lot to learn. It was very humbling at times, but yeah, brand new, brand new sport essentially.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think that's really cool that you moved out here for that, and learned about it through a softball connect. Tell me about your team. What's the season? How many games? Where do you travel to? And I read on the website it's semi-professional, so what exactly does that mean?

Makayla Brown:
So our season runs typically from the first of April through the end of May is our regular season. We play six games. Three of those are home games, which this season is located at Judge Memorial High School in Salt Lake City, and then we play three away games. Our away games this year are in Portland, Oregon and then we also are traveling to San Diego and then also Los Angeles for our games this season.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that's exciting. And are those same teams coming to play you?

Makayla Brown:
So we actually have three different teams coming to play us. This year we're playing Kansas City which will be for the first time. We've never played them in a regular season game. We will also be playing the Seattle Majestics and then Las Vegas as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
And is the league growing? Are there more and more teams and more and more opportunities to play?

Makayla Brown:
Yes absolutely. Just in the last year we've added two new teams. We've added the Golden State Storm which is based out of Sacramento, California, and then also the Jersey Shore Waves, which is in New Jersey.

Anthony Godfrey:
If someone wants to catch a home game, is there a home game in May?

Makayla Brown:
There is. There are two home games in May, and actually I was able to talk with our general manager over our team and anyone in Jordan District. If they bring their badge they can get into a game for free to honor teachers and give back to the community. That's something we really pride ourselves in as community involvement and giving back to as many people as we can.

Anthony Godfrey:
Outstanding. Well we'll put that in the show notes but we'll also email that out to employees and make sure that they all know to come. And you play those at Judge Memorial, is that right?

Makayla Brown:
Yes sir. Yep Judge Memorial all of our games are at 6 p.m. and so we play in the evening which is nice it's not as hot.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay great, and tell me about the rules is it is it similar to NFL or how does it vary?

Makayla Brown:
Yeah, great question that's a question we get asked quite a bit. We follow NCAA guidelines so very similar to college football. The only difference we have is instead of a pick six it's a pick nine, so if we're able to intercept and run it for like run it back, it actually counts for nine points instead of six.

Anthony Godfrey:
Pick nine? Is the scoring the same otherwise?

Makayla Brown:
Yes sir, the scoring is the same completely otherwise that's just one little I guess perk or bonus we have.

Anthony Godfrey:
The pick nine I'm gonna declare right now that the NFL and the NCAA need to start the pick nine. I like that. That's there ought to be a bonus if you can if you can intercept the ball and take it all the way back. I like that a lot, okay great. Well, let's all go out in May and let's see a couple of pick nines. Are they, are they are they happening for the Falconz this season? Have there been any pick nines yet?

Makayla Brown:
I sure hope so. We've had two preseason scrimmages and we've done really well so hopefully a pick nine is in our future for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Alright we're gonna watch for that, we're gonna watch for that. Is it the same number of players on the field at the same time same positions all of that's the same?

Makayla Brown:
Yes everything's the same we have 11 players on each side of the ball all other rules apply so yeah everything's pretty much the same as in NCAA college.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay tell me about your quarterback.

Makayla Brown:
Yeah so our quarterback, we have a new quarterback this year, her name's Sarah she is a rookie to our team. In the past, played flag football but this is her first year playing tackle and she's done a phenomenal job, not only on the field but also like as a teammate uplifting others and being a real leader for our team.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about your coaching staff? Is it coach Rasmussen that's your head coach?

Makayla Brown:
Yes Coach Rick, Coach Rick Rasmussen. He is our head coach this y...