ATHLETE OF THE MONTH
TANYA HENDERSON
Our athlete this month is a major power house. She’s not only a football player on Team Canada, she’s also a personal trainer, group exercise instructor and performance specialist for ATHX Performance on the west side of our beloved city. Football in general is a male dominant sport. Though we have made vast changes and improvement in welcoming, accepting and playing beside the female athlete as well, we still have a long way to go to finally be able to one day stand beside a player and disregard their gender, but to think of them as their equal teammate. Tanya is breaking down these barriers steadily one step at a time and we here at the Edmonton Muse had the honor of featuring her as our October Athlete of the Month.
WD: Tell us a little bit about yourself, what got you to start with football?
TH: I grew up on a farm a couple hours outside of Edmonton. When I finished high school I moved to Edmonton to go to school and pursue a career.
What got me started with football was the fact I could have the opportunity to play on Team
Canada. It was always a dream of mine to represent our country through a sport. Turns out there was a whole lot more that would keep me playing other than the goal to play on Team Canada.
Football is amazing for its team atmosphere that is truly one of a kind. It is incredibly competitive and intense, being such a physically demanding game overall giving the opportunity to travel and develop as a person and athlete.
WD: How long have you been a part of the team?
TH: I have been part of the Edmonton Storm since the beginning of my career and I will be going into my 6th season with the team in 2018. In 2016 I was part of Team Alberta and in 2017 I was part of Team Canada - both were the first opportunities for me to do so in my career.
WD: What is one of the most challenging things you face when it comes to this sport?
TH: I think the biggest challenge with womens tackle football is dealing with all the misconceptions and the general lack of knowledge. We consistently get “do you wear pads and helmets?”, “oh you play in the lingerie league”, “do you actually hit each other?”, “women can’t play football”, I could go on forever... The problem with all of this is how much it limits us to exposure and opportunity. We don’t get a lot of support and opportunity from grants or fundraising opportunities because we aren’t considered a “youth” team. This has presented quite the challenge when it comes to developing and growing our sport.
WD: From a nutritional stand point, do you follow any specific meal plan?
TH: I don’t follow anything incredibly specific, more so just focus on getting what I need, when I need it to properly fuel my body. Football is one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports you can play, so nutrition can absolutely make or break your performance.
The biggest things I focus on:
1. Keeping protein levels high in order to maintain and repair my muscles, especially after
an intense game.
2. Pregame nutrition. Generally, the night before I try and have a larger meal than I normally would to ensure my body is stocked up and ready to go. Game day meals depend on the time we play but typically I have a big breakfast and then just snack leading up to the game. I’m fairly superstitious about eating and that’s why I ONLY drink blue Gatorade for that reason, that hasn’t changed since high school.
3. Eating enough during season. I would rather eat a little bit more than needed rather than
chance eating less. Football is a high performance sport and the last thing I need to is to be running on fumes in a game or practice. In-season is not the time to be “dieting
down” or trying to promote fat loss, if that’s a goal then it should be done in off-season.