Regina football player not letting anything get in her way

Taryn Jensen doesn’t shy away from pushing over a barrier. 

As an offensive lineman in the Regina Minor Football’s pee wee division, the barrier is usually in the form of an opposing defensive line. 

However, as just one of eight females among the 344 registered players in the pee wee division, the 12-year-old is also pushing over a gender barrier. 

“I really want to play against the boys still just because I like to knock them around,” said Taryn, who is on the RMF’s pee wee Bengals. 

However, it took a little convincing from Taryn to get her dad to sign her up for tackle football. After playing flag football in the Regina Youth Flag Football League for several years, Taryn’s brother Talon got a football helmet of his own and Taryn wanted one too.

“When I bought her younger brother his own helmet, she was jealous and said she wanted to try it,” said Wade Jensen, Taryn’s dad. 

“That’s literally how it started.” 

In her first year of RMF with the atom Ti-Cats, Taryn proved to be a dominant blocker. In the 2022 third-place bowl game, she was named the offensive player of the game, a rare honour for an offensive lineman to receive. 

“Last year was fun but I was also scared of hurting boys because I knew my strength, so I was kind of scared to hurt people,” said Taryn, who is now in Grade 7. 

“Seeing her literally toss boys around is fun to watch,” added Wade. 

Last season, Taryn, who is 5-foot-10, also suited up for 11-and-under Sask Selects football team that competed in tournaments in Las Vegas and San Antonio. Taryn was just one of two girls on the team, along with Ellie Wicks. 

This year, Taryn has already made the Sask Selects team that will travel to a tournament in Florida. She also plans on trying out for an under-14 team that will represent Canada at a tournament in Germany in March. 

“It’s a whole different level of pride,” said Wade. “My dad passed when I was quite young, so I was raised by my mom and my sister. 

“And I’m a big ‘girl power’ person because they women in my life have always been very strong.” 

Of the 1,108 registered players in RMF, 20 are female. There are five females among the 200 players in the U10 mighty mites division, six females among 330 players in U12 atom, eight of 344 in pee wee and one female among 234 players in U16 bantam.  

The all-female Regina Victorias feature 16 pee wee players, 17 bantam and 13 high school females registered. And while Taryn was accepted to play with the Victorias this season, she decided to keep playing in the RMF system against mostly boys.  

“To show them who’s boss,” said Taryn. “Most of the time they don’t mess around with me because they know what I can do.” 

Eventually Taryn hopes to continue to play against the boys when she enters high school in two years, with the goal of one day suiting up for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. 

But until then, it’s about learning, enjoying the game and pushing over any barrier in her way.

“She’s taken very good to coaching and learning,” said Wade. “I’m super proud of her.”