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Three Washington, D.C.-Area Residents Named to USA Football’s 2010 Women’s National Team
Author: For usafootball.com

Published: April 8, 2010, revised April 8, 2010

America’s First Women’s National Team in Football to Face the World’s Best in Stockholm this June
Link: http://www.usafootball.com/articles/displayArticle/7366/9220


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OKIIMA PICKETT of Glen Burnie, Md., MICHELLE RIDDLE of Washington, D.C. and DONNA WILKINSON of Wheaton, Md., have been selected to play for USA Football's 2010 Women's National Team which will compete in the sport's first women's world championship this summer in Stockholm, Sweden. USA Football is the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels. Forty-five (45) of the country's top female tackle football players have been selected to play on America's first women's national team in the sport.

Pickett, Riddle and Wilkinson each play for the D.C. Divas of the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL).

Pickett, a 5-4, 138-pound shifty and fearless running back and mother who led the IWFL in rushing last season excelled in soccer for Old Dominion University and currently works for IBM as an Information Security Specialist. Riddle, who will play center for the United States, has started at every offensive line position during her eight-year tenure with the Divas. Riddle has worked as a physical education teacher and a coach in swimming, basketball, soccer, softball and field hockey. Wilkinson is the only athlete in Columbia Union College history who started in five sports (basketball, cross country, softball, track & field and volleyball) is the Divas' all-time leader in rushing yards and scoring.

USA Football's 2010 Women's National Team will represent the United States among a six-nation field competing for the inaugural International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Women's World Championship in Stockholm, from June 27-July 3. National teams competing for the historic tournament's gold medal are: Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United States, respectively.

USA Football's team is assembled and managed in partnership with the IWFL, which kicked off its 10th season this month and consists of more than 1,800 female athletes across 51 teams.

Team USA is led by JOHN KONECKI of Schereville, Ind., an accomplished coaching veteran within the IWFL and high school football. The head coach of the IWFL's Chicago Force and the architect of its prolific offense, the Eastern Illinois University alumnus was named to the league's 2009 Western Conference All-Star Team coaching staff.

"These women comprise a football team built on talent and character," said Konecki, whose roster is assembled from 20 IWFL teams, with the league's Chicago Force and Dallas Diamonds having the most players on the squad (seven). The New York Sharks have the next-greatest representation with six players. "We're proud to be part of a 'first' in football, but we're more concerned right now about competing for a gold medal.

"There's no greater honor for an American coach or athlete than to represent the United States," Konecki added. "Every player and coach on this team embraces the challenge ahead of us. We know we'll be facing the best in the world - we'll be ready for Stockholm."

USA Football's 2010 Women's National Team:

PLAYER POS. HT. WT. RESIDES COLLEGE OCCUPATION
Angela Bandstra LB 5-9 165 Chicago, Ill. Central Missouri State Rehabilitation Aide
Kelly Barker LB 6-2 218 Dorchester, Mass. Bentley College College Basketball Coach
Jennifer Blum WR 5-6 155 Oakland, N.J. Ithaca Attorney
Mia Brickhouse RB 5-6 150 Revere, Mass. Villanova Administrator, Big East Conf.
Keesha Brooks OL 5-10 240 Oak Lawn, Ill. Augustana Non-Profit Asst. Supervisor
Tiffany Bunton LB 5-10 210 Ft. Worth, Texas Texas State Ft. Worth Police Dept., Narcotics
Tarsha Fain T 6-1 275 Baltimore, Md. N/A TSA Security Officer
Alberta Fitcheard-Brydson CB 5-5 145 Cedar Hill, Texas Cedar Valley (Dallas) Special Event Coordinator
Melissa Gallegos QB 5-6 198 Chula Vista, Calif. San Diego State Sales Manager
Molly Goodwin LB 5-7 150 Brookline, Mass. California Financial Advisor
Sami Grisafi QB 5-11 175 Chicago, Ill. Roosevelt U.-Chicago Musician/Songwriter/Actress
Olivia Griswold DE 5-11 190 Homestead, Pa. Sanford-Brown Institute N/A
Patricia Harper WR 5-11 150 Chicago, Ill. Stetson Client Service Manager
Leah Hinkle LB 5-5 155 Albany, Ore. Western Oregon Teacher
Schandra Loveless DE 5-8 175 Cleveland, Tenn. Maryville College Family Service Worker
Sally Maple WR 5-8 155 Tequesta, Fla. Florida Atlantic Waitress
Kimberly Marks LB 5-9 200 Chicago, Ill. DePaul Tax Accountant
Knengi Martin DE 5-10 220 San Luis Obispo, Calif. N/A Football Coach & Retail Assoc.
Jamie Menzyk G 5-9 245 Chicago, Ill. Calumet-St. Joseph Customer Service
Karen Mulligan QB 5-8 175 Bronx, N.Y. Delaware Physical Education Teacher
Amanda Oppel LB 5-6 160 Glen Cove, N.Y. Temple Marketing Consultant
Dawn Pederson T 5-10 200 Harwood Heights, Ill. Ohio State Teacher/Culinary Specialist
Okiima Pickett RB 5-4 138 Glen Burnie, Md. Old Dominion Information Assurance Analyst
Melissa Pickett C 5-5 230 West Caldwell, N.J. Rider Paralegal
Jennifer Pirog CB 5-6 143 Derry, N.H. New Hampshire Hairstylist
Lauren Pringle WR 5-5 130 New York, N.Y. NYU Radio Show Producer
Brittany Reinbolt WR 5-6 150 Los Angeles, Calif. Winona (Minn.) State Teacher/Basketball & Track Coach
Ann Richardson DL 5-7 125 Bedford, Texas Colorado Technical Auto Detail Business Owner
Michelle Riddle C 5-6 210 Washington, D.C. Lock Haven Teacher
Amy Satterfield LB 5-7 175 Los Angeles, Calif. Bowling Green Physical Education Teacher
Jennifer Schmidt QB 5-9 140 Mission, Kan. Columbia Union International Business Developer
Julie Shockley (Wicher) HB 5-4 145 Roseville, Calif. San Diego Workers Comp Claims Examiner
Adrienne Smith WR 5-7 135 New York, N.Y. Washington (St. Louis) Business Entrepreneur
Angelique Smith DE 5-9 181 Costa Mesa, Calif. Cal State-Fullerton Student
Roseanna Smith C 5-6 185 Bethlehem, Ga. Iowa Director, American Jr. Golf Assoc.
Jessica Springer LB 5-9 220 Haslet, Texas Texas Women's Univ. Adapted P.E. Teacher
Tegan Stuart WR 5-6 130 Kansas City, Mo. Emporia State Executive Assistant
Emily Tidwell LB 5-7 220 Arlington, Texas Northwood (Texas) Tool Grinder & Bookkeeper
Brenda VanCuick RB 5-8 140 Kenosha, Wis. Wisconsin Firefighter & Attorney
Sharon Vasquez CB 5-10 150 Pittsburgh, Pa. Allegheny C.C. Pharmaceutical Product Specialist
Desiree Weimann RB 5-4 121 Temecula, Calif. UNLV Funeral Director
Danilynn Welniak WR 5-5 130 Keller, Texas Oklahoma State Podcast Host/Sports TV Production
Jennifer Welter LB 5-2 145 Dallas, Texas Boston College Sports Psychology Consultant
Donna Wilkinson TE 5-10 175 Wheaton, Md. Columbia Union Trainer & Business Developer
Adrienne Wilson WR 5-9 150 Spokane, Wash. Eastern Washington Student, Electronic Engineering

USA Football's Women's National Team was assembled from hundreds of premiere female athletes and selected by the team's coaching staff which is steeped in women's football experience.

USA Football's 2010 Women's National Team Coaching Staff:

COACH POSITION RESIDES EXPERIENCE
John Konecki Head Coach & Offensive Coordinator Schereville, Ind. Chicago Force (IWFL) & Crete-Monee (Ill.) H.S.
Jennifer Huston Wide Receivers Nampa, Idaho Sacramento Sirens (IWFL)
Mark McLaughlin Special Teams Coordinator & Def. Backs Madison, Wis. Wisconsin Warriors (IWFL)
Beth Nugent Defensive Line Glen Cove, N.Y. New York Sharks (IWFL)
Anthony Stone Defensive Coordinator & Linebackers Rockford, Ill. Chicago Force (IWFL)

Team USA will conduct training camp in Round Rock, Texas, in mid-June before departing for Stockholm on June 24. USA Football's national teams are supported by corporate partners Riddell, Shock Doctor, Gatorade and the Andrews Institute.

Seeding for the six nations that will send their 45-player women's national teams to Scandinavia was determined based on the number of female football participants in each country established by data recorded in the 2009 IFAF Benchmarking Study:

SEED
COUNTRY

1.
United States

2.
Canada

3.
Germany

4.
Austria

5.
Finland

6.
Sweden


The six-country tournament field will compete at the Zinkensdamms IP Stadium in Stockholm in the following groups:

GROUP A GROUP B
United States Canada
Austria Germany
Finland Sweden


2010 IFAF Women's World Championship schedule

Saturday, June 26, 2010
Teams arrive

Sunday, June 27, 2010
USA vs. Austria
Sweden vs. Canada

Monday, June 28
Rest day / Teams inactive on previous day have option to arrive

Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Finland vs. Austria
Germany vs. Sweden

Thursday, July 1, 2010
Canada vs. Germany
USA vs. Finland

Saturday, July 3, 2010
Fifth Place game
Bronze Medal game
Gold Medal game

About IFAF
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) unites more than 50 countries on five continents through a burgeoning international sport. With national football federations in existence for more than 75 years, IFAF was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through international cooperation and global competition. The IFAF office is located near Paris, France.

About USA Football
USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competitions and is America's sole delegate to IFAF. USA Football hosts more than 80 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, its 32 teams and the NFL Players Association. Endowed by the NFL and NFLPA in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football (usafootball.com) is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.