Harris-LBJ Manager Hits the Professional Gridiron
Employee's Dream to Play Football Comes True

For one Harris County Hospital District employee, the dream of playing professional football recently came true.

Angela Price-Hardeman had all but given up on her dream to some day catch the pigskin.

"I've always wanted to play football, but couldn't because there were no teams for women," she said.

That changed last year with the inaugural season of the Women's Professional Football League and the creation of a Houston team, the Houston Energy.

Hardeman, a 16-year HCHD employee, works as a pharmacy office manager at Harris-Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital.

"Last year when I heard there was a league, I went to tryout but it was too late - they had already picked the team," she said.

A bit discouraged, she put it out of her mind. That is, until earlier this summer.

With five days before the team's final open tryouts, she began working out. The day of the tryouts, she was disappointed with her performance.

"I even told the coaches I was sorry for not being in shape," she said.

A later phone call letting her know she made the team really caught her by surprise. Her life had suddenly changed dramatically.

The married mother of four, her oldest a 17-year-old, now had to juggle her duties - the Hospital District, family and football.

Nicknamed "Lil'Bit", the 5-foot-1-inch Hardeman is the smallest team member, and plays dual positions of wide receiver and punt returner.

For those thinking the WPFL is soft, Hardeman, a three-time MVP player of volleyball, basketball, and track and field, warns them to think again.

"This is very much like the NFL with a lot of hitting and rough play," she said.

All rules are the same. The main difference is that the league uses a smaller football.

The Energy is undefeated. They opened their preseason July 28 against the Austin Rage and won 27-13. The following week, also against the Rage, they beat them 25-0. In their season opener against New England, the team won in another shutout performance, 30-0. The team plays 10 games in a regular season and home games are held at both the University of Houston's Robertson Stadium and Pasadena Memorial Stadium.

Hardeman has gotten a lot of support from her coworkers. Her boss, Tad Gomez, director of pharmacy, has become one of her biggest supporters.

"A lot of people look at me differently when I tell them I play football," Hardeman said. "To tell the truth, several of them wouldn't even recognize me in football gear."

This year's team hopes to duplicate the success of last year's squad that won the equivalent of the NFL's Super Bowl.

The Houston Energy season will come to a close Oct. 6. For more information on the team, call (713) 926-7677 or go to the Web site at http://www.houstonenergyfootball.com.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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