By JONAMAR JACINTO
Sports editor of the
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Tevani Liotard used to pride herself on playing multiple sports in high school and college, and her teenage daughters have followed in her footsteps.
Now, the 44-year-old and her eldest child, Mahlynn, 19, are tackling a new challenge.
The Liotards play for the Modesto Maniax of the Independent Women’s Football League, and the team will begin the 2010 campaign Saturday night starting at 7 at Modesto Christian High in Salida. Modesto will play host to the Portland Shockwave.
“I’m looking forward to it, but it might be one of those things where once you line up you start to feel the nerves a little bit,” Tevani said.
Liotard recently stepped down as Sierra High’s head varsity volleyball coach of 15 years but remains as Manteca Unified School District’s physical education coordinator.
Mahlynn graduated from Sierra in 2009 and is on the Modesto Junior College track and field team. She and younger sister Jaslynn, a senior at Sierra where she is a three-sport athlete, played for their mom.
“It’s very different,” said Mahlynn, who plays on the offensive and defensive lines. “It’s nothing compared to volleyball or track. I don’t know how the guys do it.”
Tevani Liotard graduated from Manteca High and played volleyball, basketball, softball, badminton and track. She continued her volleyball and basketball careers at Delta College in Stockton before focusing on volleyball at Sacramento State, where she was named an All-American in 1988.
Playing football never once crossed her mind until Manteca High classmate Aaron Goodwin, the co-owner of the Maniax, tried luring her in three years ago. Goodwin’s wife, Dineen, an East Union graduate, is co-owner and also plays for the team.
“Aaron has been bothering me about it for a few years, but I just didn’t have the time,” Tevani said. “Now that the girls are older I do have the time.”
But not enough time to spend with husband Jeff, who jokingly said, “I want my family back.”
Jeff, who played football for Ripon High in the early 1980s, did point out that it’s another way for his family to bond.
“It’s actually pretty cool. They come to me for questions about certain things and I like to give them pointers,” Jeff said.
Tevani and Mahlynn have been working out with the team since December, starting with weightlifting and gradually moving onto full-contact practices since. Tevani, who plays tight end and various positions on defense, has the bruises as evidence but wears them proudly.
“You have to have that mentality that you know you’re going to get hit, you know you’re going to get stuck and you’re going to have to eat grass once in a while,” she said. “It’s fun, it’s challenging and it’s a lot of hard work.”
The Liotards and Goodwins aren’t the only locals on the team.
Lathrop resident and Weston Ranch sophomore girls basketball coach Jen Bauer plays on the lines. Others from the area include: Amanda Crandall of Ripon, Mahina Moten of French Camp and Sierra graduates Alexis Dutra and Cyless Paminsan.
“Women’s sports have come a long way since I have been in college,” Tevani said. “I go back and watch Sac State (volleyball) and I see how much bigger, faster and stronger these ladies are, and I thought we had it going on because we were good then.
“I look at these women on the team, and they come in all different shapes and sizes and different ethnic backgrounds and they get the job done. It’s great that these ladies are out on the trenches doing something that they love.”
For more information about the team, visit www.modestomaniax.com.
Sports editor of the
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Tevani Liotard used to pride herself on playing multiple sports in high school and college, and her teenage daughters have followed in her footsteps.
Now, the 44-year-old and her eldest child, Mahlynn, 19, are tackling a new challenge.
The Liotards play for the Modesto Maniax of the Independent Women’s Football League, and the team will begin the 2010 campaign Saturday night starting at 7 at Modesto Christian High in Salida. Modesto will play host to the Portland Shockwave.
“I’m looking forward to it, but it might be one of those things where once you line up you start to feel the nerves a little bit,” Tevani said.
Liotard recently stepped down as Sierra High’s head varsity volleyball coach of 15 years but remains as Manteca Unified School District’s physical education coordinator.
Mahlynn graduated from Sierra in 2009 and is on the Modesto Junior College track and field team. She and younger sister Jaslynn, a senior at Sierra where she is a three-sport athlete, played for their mom.
“It’s very different,” said Mahlynn, who plays on the offensive and defensive lines. “It’s nothing compared to volleyball or track. I don’t know how the guys do it.”
Tevani Liotard graduated from Manteca High and played volleyball, basketball, softball, badminton and track. She continued her volleyball and basketball careers at Delta College in Stockton before focusing on volleyball at Sacramento State, where she was named an All-American in 1988.
Playing football never once crossed her mind until Manteca High classmate Aaron Goodwin, the co-owner of the Maniax, tried luring her in three years ago. Goodwin’s wife, Dineen, an East Union graduate, is co-owner and also plays for the team.
“Aaron has been bothering me about it for a few years, but I just didn’t have the time,” Tevani said. “Now that the girls are older I do have the time.”
But not enough time to spend with husband Jeff, who jokingly said, “I want my family back.”
Jeff, who played football for Ripon High in the early 1980s, did point out that it’s another way for his family to bond.
“It’s actually pretty cool. They come to me for questions about certain things and I like to give them pointers,” Jeff said.
Tevani and Mahlynn have been working out with the team since December, starting with weightlifting and gradually moving onto full-contact practices since. Tevani, who plays tight end and various positions on defense, has the bruises as evidence but wears them proudly.
“You have to have that mentality that you know you’re going to get hit, you know you’re going to get stuck and you’re going to have to eat grass once in a while,” she said. “It’s fun, it’s challenging and it’s a lot of hard work.”
The Liotards and Goodwins aren’t the only locals on the team.
Lathrop resident and Weston Ranch sophomore girls basketball coach Jen Bauer plays on the lines. Others from the area include: Amanda Crandall of Ripon, Mahina Moten of French Camp and Sierra graduates Alexis Dutra and Cyless Paminsan.
“Women’s sports have come a long way since I have been in college,” Tevani said. “I go back and watch Sac State (volleyball) and I see how much bigger, faster and stronger these ladies are, and I thought we had it going on because we were good then.
“I look at these women on the team, and they come in all different shapes and sizes and different ethnic backgrounds and they get the job done. It’s great that these ladies are out on the trenches doing something that they love.”
For more information about the team, visit www.modestomaniax.com.
