Two teachers tackle new role as female football players

SNELLVILLE - Shiloh High School biology teacher Krista Herron trades in her lab coat on Saturdays for football pads and a helmet. <br> <br> Herron, along with fellow teacher Kristy Dermid, plays for the Atlanta Leopards, a first-year team in the pioneering National Women&#39;s Football League, founded in 2000. <br> <br> Although the Leopards have lost each of their first four games, Shiloh high school students have rallied behind their teachers and the fledgling football league. <br> <br> Shiloh senior Erin Gibbs was one of four students at the April 20 opener whose shirt spelled out a tribute to Dermid: ``DERM&#39;&#39; in leopard-spotted letters. <br> <br> Gibbs said , ``She comes to class with huge bruises on her arms. You can tell she&#39;s sore, but she doesn&#39;t complain about it.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Dermid, who teaches physical education and coaches volleyball, admits she feels as though she&#39;s been in a car accident after each Saturday&#39;s game. But she&#39;s excited because the chance to be a pioneer doesn&#39;t come along often. <br> <br> A starter at left guard, Herron says, ``It&#39;s something that nobody has done. You can always say you were part of an inaugural team.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Leopards are more than halfway through the eight-game season with two games coming up against the Knoxville Summit and games against the Nashville Dream and Alabama Renegades. Shiloh students plan to be there. <br> <br> The student support helps the Leopards handle what is nearly a second full-time job. The 50-member team, chosen from 120 who tried out, practice four to five nights a week. <br> <br> Dermid, a fullback, said she never played football growing up, except to serve as a ``tackle dummy&#39;&#39; for her older brother. <br> <br> Dermid said, ``I&#39;m just glad that I can pass on the message to girls that women can do anything men can do.&#39;&#39;