VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — From holding the line to throwing touchdowns, this girl can do it all.

Rowan McCarty plays quarterback and linebacker for the Independence Middle School football team in Virginia Beach, showing girls they can take the field too.

And then there’s her female assistant coach breaking barriers right beside her. These two ladies are showing people you don’t have to be a guy to know a thing or two about football.

Rowan said her friends and family didn’t believe her at first when she said she was going to try out for the Independence Middle School football team, but from practices to gameday, now they’re on the sidelines cheering her on.

“It’s not really like a normal sport that a girl would do so I thought it would be something different, something fun,” Rowan said.

And she’s in good company on the field too.

“When I walked out hearing that there was going to be a female coach, I’m like, OK,” said Rowan. “I think its a good thing because it also shows people that girls can coach and they’re not just on the sideline.”

“It made me want to stay even more,” said assistant coach Teciara Gambrell. “I wanted to be there for her even more because I know that’s different being in a different field than what you’re normally used to.”

This is Gambrell’s first year helping coach the football team. She coaches middle school boys’ basketball too and said they don’t treat her any different.

“They treat me the same as a male coach,” Gambrell said. “They just look to me more as a mother figure, an auntie figure, sister figure, someone they can look to who’s not so hard on them,” said Gambrell.

Rowan said she’s learned a lot of lessons from coaches, like Gambrell, and being on the gridiron has made her stronger, mentally, too.

“Especially playing with a whole group of boys, it definitely shifts your mentality, especially because its like a man’s sport,” Gambrell said. “Confidence is a really big thing, because if you act confident, you become confident.”

Rowan said some tried to tell her she wouldn’t cut it — even a few of the boys she was trying out with, and she’s gotten a few double takes on the field too, but for all the young girls looking on from the sidelines, Rowan and Coach G hope one day this inspires them too.

“Don’t care what other people say, just keep doing you and never give up,” Rowan said. “At your lowest point, like you could shoot out to be the best person that you can be, so just keep going because you never know how good you can get.”

“It may not look the norm or traditional, but anything you want to do you can put your mind to and you will succeed,” Gambrell said.

Rowan said she isn’t sure if she’s going to play in high school just yet. She also plays softball, basketball and volleyball, and she swims too, so she’s got options. Still, she hopes young girls see this and know they can do anything they put their minds to.

And the district told 10 On Your Side that although they’ve had other female football players at the high school level — mostly kickers — they believe Rowan is the first female position player in the entire school division.