Haley Abeyta has been on a football field since she was able to walk.

Well before suiting up in pads herself, she would run out during her older brother’s practices. The coach couldn’t let 3-year-old Haley stay on the field and play alongside the big boys, but he embraced her as part of the team.

But soaking up the football atmosphere wasn’t enough for Haley. With the coach’s blessing, she would “run calisthenics for his team, and the boys would listen to her,” her mother, Heather, said.

“Sometimes she would grab some of the players by their facemasks, and you could tell she was kind of yelling at them,” Heather said. “Later, I finally asked one of them what she was telling them, and he said, ‘I have no idea, we just agree (with her.)’  I asked the coach why he let her run things, and his response was ‘Because she is going to be someone big in this sport someday.”

That love for the game has never left Haley. She started playing when she was 5 – on her 7-year-old brother Matthew’s team no less, helping them win a league championship.

“My brothers got me into it when I was little, and I always wanted to follow in their footsteps,” Abeyta said. “We always played at family parties, and our cousins would have games and stuff. I was into the hitting, being able to smack the boys around. It was fun.”

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Eleven years later, Haley is a junior at Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, Colo., just west of Denver. She starts at middle linebacker for the junior varsity team and suits up for the varsity squad at second string, always ready to be called upon if someone should the opportunity arise.

She has never been intimidated playing against boys, even now as the size disparity increases between Haley and her competition.

“She knows that she has to train harder and play harder than any other player out there, but that just drives her determination even more,” said Heather Abeyta. “She trains very hard year-round to be able to compete in this sport. On the field, if it wasn’t for her ponytail, I don’t think anyone would know she was a girl out there. “

Haley said the main adversity she faces has been pointing and whispering by other coaches and players at various football camps.

“I use it as motivation because they think I’m a girl, so I’m not even gonna be that good,” Abeyta said. “I have to prove them wrong, and by the end of the camps, they stop whispering because I’ve earned their respect.”

Her male teammates have always been positive – and a positive influence on her.

“Her friends are extremely supportive,” her mother said. “The other players have never treated her any different. Some are very protective over her, but they know she knows the game. She can play her position and she is out there to play just like they are.”

Recent news stories have provided motivation for young female football players such as Haley. The Arizona Cardinals made Jen Welter the first NFL assistant coach in league history, and Sarah Thomas becoming the first full-time female referee.

“It made me proud because if she can become a coach, if she can become a ref, why can’t I become a player?” Abeyta said. “Them getting those jobs pushes me harder and shows me I have a chance.”

Haley made a little history of her own by becoming the first female player to participate in the U.S. National Development Games, a camp where top high school athletes from across the country compete against one another for roster spots on the U.S. National Teams.

“I wanted to do it to prove myself,” Abeyta said. “I thought it was pretty cool to participate in, because I guess it means I’m pretty good. I learned a lot at the camps. Everyone took me in right away, and all the boys were proud to have me on their team.”

She also was named Most Outstanding Sophomore Linebacker at a University of Oregon camp this past summer. That accolade netted her some face-to-face team with one of her football heroes, former Oregon quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and current Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota.

Haley has dreamed of playing football for the Ducks since she was 9 years old, but currently has her sites set on starting for the varsity team and using football as an avenue to get into college. For all her success thus far, Haley credits a great support system.

“My mom is my main role model,” Abeyta said. “She is the main person who keeps me motivated. Without her, I wouldn’t make it this far. My whole family always pushes me to be better. They are always behind me and they tell me to go kick some butt. My love of the game came from my family and I keep playing because of my love of the game.”