Pittsburgh Passion

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The Pittsburgh Passion is a full-contact women's American football team competing in the National Women's Football Association (NWFA).

[edit] History

The Passion were formed in March 2002 and are currently owned by team member Teresa Conn.

The NWFA is a five-year old, 36-team league headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Passion are a member of the Northern Conference of that league and play an eight-game regular season schedule. Two bye weeks are built into that schedule which runs from April to June each year. The season concludes with three rounds of playoffs and a championship game in either June or July. NWFA teams play according to standard National Football League rules with the following notable exceptions:

TDY-sized football,
only one foot in-bounds is required for a reception, and
no blocking below the waist downfield.

In spring 2003, the Passion played its home games at Belle Vernon Area High School. The head coach at the time was Larry Camerota. The team finished its inaugural campaign with a 2-6 record; four of the six losses were lost by a touchdown or less margin. Average attendance at each of the Passion's four home games that season was between 2,500 and 3,000 fans.

For the 2004 season, the Passion moved its home location to Ambridge High School's Moe Rubenstein Stadium. Lou Rood served as Head Coach. The team improved its regular season record to 6-2, narrowly missing a berth in the NWFA playoffs as a Northern Conference wildcard team. The Passion led the league in attendance for 2004 with crowds approaching 4,000 fans per game.

During 2005, the Passion carried an active roster of 55 women along with a practice squad. Each year, players are selected for the team after going through a tryout and interview process to test their physical abilities and gauge their interest in playing. Since the organization's inception in 2002, over 200 women have attended Passion tryouts.

The Passion's coaching staff has a head coach and group of assistants with various coaching backgrounds and playing experience at the youth, scholastic, collegiate and professional levels. Volunteer support personnel include equipment and merchandising managers, athletic trainers, personal trainers, chiropractors, web designers, marketers, videographers, photographers, statisticians, and gameday coordinators. The Passion have also implemented an active internship program with local colleges and universities to give students hands-on experience throughout the year in fields such as advertising, marketing, public relations, journalism, business administration and sports management.

Starting in 2006, the Passion will be playing its home games at George K. Cupples Stadium (formerly "South Stadium") in the South Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

In 2006, the Passion will also play host to the annual NWFA championship game at Newman Stadium in Wexford, Pennsylvania, United States.

Bob Gold is the team's current Head Coach.

[edit] Player information

With little to no actual experience playing American football, Passion players come from various sports backgrounds, including softball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, rugby, lacrosse, and track & field. The players live in Pittsburgh as well as in the various suburbs that surround the city and typically commute 45 minutes to one-and-a-half hours for meetings, strength and conditioning workouts, and practices three to four times per week in the evenings and on weekends.

The average age of the NWFA players and the Passion's team members is in the mid-30s. A wide range of occupations and outside interests are represented. The players are single, married, or even parents.