Warrior Women

Warrior Meet eight women who have

found exercise, confi dence and friendship in the athletic

activities they love.

BY LOYD MCINTOSHPHOTOS BY CARY NORTON

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Women



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Dixie Thrash, roller derbyIn the newly revitalized sport of roller derby,

a funky group of the city’s toughest broads,

known as the Tragic City Rollers, has spent

the last six years slinging elbows and breaking

bones to the delight of their hardcore fans.

The heart of the team is a chick called Dixie

Thrash, not-so-mild mannered Joe Muggs

employee by day, roller derby queen by night.

A Northport native, Thrash’s formative

years were, let’s just say, colorful. Her mother

was competitive in archery and a professional

pool player, and her grandfather was former

LSU head football coach Curly Hallman.

Thrash grew up riding horses and ran track in

high school. However, she discovered early in

life that she was meant to live life on wheels.

“I come from a long line of family who

everything they touch, they do well. Skating

was the only thing that was mine that I could

do,” she says.

Thrash stumbled into the sport almost by

accident. After graduating from the University

of Alabama, she saw her first roller derby

match in fall 2006 while visiting a friend in

Austin, the home of the modern roller scene.

Weeks later, Thrash met a woman on the

Dixie Derby Girls in Huntsville. After a month

practicing with the DDG, Thrash founded

the Tragic City Rollers and, in the process,

found herself.

“All I need is to hear that first whistle and

to get one good hit in on that very first jam.

Once I do that, all those jitters and nerves are

just gone and I don’t think about anything

else,” Thrash says.

Because of the sport’s very physical repu-

tation, Thrash is often asked why she does

it. “Because it fits me,” she explains. “It’s

like someone sitting down and explaining

their philosophy, their religion, everything

in their head. Everything about it works.

It works my body the way I want it to be

worked, and it works my mind the way I want

it to be worked.”

Leigh Marsh, runnerBecause she’s always sporting a smile and

positive attitude, you may never guess that

Pell City resident Leigh Marsh’s life has had

its ups and downs. Shortly after her family

moved to Pell City when she was a child,

Marsh was hit by a car, an accident that she

says likely caused her to develop scoliosis.

In 1996, her husband died in a car wreck,

leaving her with two small children to care

for at age 26.

Three years ago, a friend talked her into

training for and running a 5K. Marsh jumped

in headfirst, despite having no sports back-

ground to draw from. “My dad was a high

school football, basketball and track coach all

my life, and I didn’t do any sports, I guess just

to be the opposite of him. That was my rebel-

lious side,” she says.

Marsh ran her first race, a 5K, in January

2007. “About mile two-and-half I was like,

‘Please God, just get me to the finish line.

That’s all I want,’” she admits. “After I fin-

ished I was all excited, and I thought ‘I like

this. I’m going to do this every month.’”

Since then, Marsh has not taken running

to levels she never imagined, competing in

11 half-marathons and a marathon, weeks

before her 40th birthday. Marsh has become

an encourager, often convincing others to run

with her and even willingly coming in last

place in order to run with a newcomer.

“I never thought that I would ever want

to run a marathon. If you just get out there

and try, you can do it if you want to,” she

adds. “As long as you finish, everybody is still

proud of you.”

he men on the gridiron are not the only athletes shedding

blood, sweat and tears on the playing field this fall. October is breast cancer awareness

month—and that makes autumn the perfect time to celebrate the female athletes who

compete for the good of both their bodies and their souls. Read the stories of a

handful of Birmingham women who empower themselves and inspire others with

their grit, desire and determination—for the glory of winning, the team camarade-

rie or the challenge of overcoming mental and physical obstacles.

“About mile two-and-half I was like, ‘Please God, just get me to the finish

line. That’s all I want.’” Leigh Marsh

T he men on th

blood, sweat and tears on the playingtears

month—and that makes autumn themak

compete for the good of both theigood

handful of Birmingham women whngham

their grit, desire and determination—and d

rie or the challenge of overcoming mge of

“All I need is to hear that first whistle and to get one good hit in on that very first jam.” Dixie Thrash


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Britney Lockhart, lacrosse Ramsay High School senior Britney Lockhart

has made a name for herself among her peers

and even several college lacrosse coaches,

despite only coming to the sport two years

ago. In fact, the East Lake resident admits she

didn’t know anything about the sport prior

to trying out for the newly established team

during her sophomore year.

As a sophomore, Lockhart was on the vol-

leyball team, and she played basketball and

ran track as a kid. Ramsay Assistant Principal

Yancy Williams convinced her to give lacrosse

a shot, although Lockhart says she was reluc-

tant at first. Now, she has developed into

one of the best lacrosse players in the area.

Lockhart was named to the 2010 state All-

Star team and is being recruited by sev-

eral universities. She and her squad are also

something of trailblazers, as the first female

minority lacrosse team in the Southeast.

In all but one game during the 2010 sea-

son, Lockhart scored at least four goals. But

her greatest memory, she says, was a game in

which she scored seven goals, an incredible

feat against some of the state’s best competi-

tion. “I was in the zone that day,” she says.

The 17-year-old’s aims—both personal

and team-oriented—are high. After going

winless in the team’s first year, 2009, the Lady

Rams finished fourth in the state last year.

Lockhart says the team has a shot at winning

the whole thing in 2011. And even though

she has made friends from other schools

through lacrosse, Lockhart really wants a shot

at taking down the area’s two best teams:

Oak Mountain and Vestavia.

“This year is the big year, my senior year,”

she says, “and I want to get everything done.”

Tamra Barron, competitive fitness model Chelsea resident Tamra Barron is perhaps

one of the most conditioned female athletes

you could meet, even though in her sport

there is no ball to put in a goal and no finish

line to cross. That’s because this mother of

two is a competitive fitness model—and one

who takes her training very seriously.

The 33-year-old has always been a fitness

enthusiast, often found in the gym lifting

weights or getting in some cardiovascular

work several days a week. Despite her inter-

est in healthy living, Barron wasn’t competi-

tive in sports until she entered the 2010 NGA

Alabama Natural Open Bodybuilding, Figure

and Fitness Model Championships, taking

second place in the women’s fitness model

competition.

It wasn’t until May—just a couple of

months before the competition—that Barron

decided to give the sport a shot. “I was work-

ing out one day when Scott [Hults, Greystone

YMCA fitness director, competitive body-

builder and competition organizer] came up

to me and said, ‘You need to be in my show

this summer,’” Barron says. “I looked at him

like he was crazy.”

Since she is married to a strength and

conditioning coach, Barron perhaps under-

stands the foundations of strength training

better than most women. She quickly learned

how to train for a fitness model competition,

which consists of lifting weights and main-

taining a strict diet.

In the weeks leading up to the competi-

tion, Barron took in more calories than many

men a foot taller than her 5’2” frame. By the

time the competition rolled around, she was

physically prepared but mentally unsure. “I

was a nervous wreck before the competition.

I didn’t want anyone to know I was doing

this,“ Barron says.

“Getting up on that stage gave me more

self-confidence,” Barron says. “My 6-year-

old and 4-year-old liked it because mommy

brought home a trophy.”

“I was working out one day when

Scott came up to me and said,

‘You need to be in my show

this summer.’”Tamra Barron

“This year is the big year, my senior year, and I want to get everything done.” Britney Lockhart



Kelly Jiang, fencing Few people have the chance to experience

what Kelly Jiang is experiencing right now:

being recognized as one of the best in the

country at something. This Mountain Brook

resident is a nationally ranked saber fencer,

and one of the brightest competitors in her

sport—and she’s only 13.

Jiang showed a natural talent for the sport

at 7, after accompanying her brother to his

fencing lessons. A smart and precocious kid,

she picked up on the sport right away. Soon,

Jiang was taking group lessons and learning

the vagaries of the sport at a time when most

girls her age were playing soccer or taking

dance lessons. She soon added individual

lessons to catch up to the rest of her class.

Now, the Mountain Brook Junior High

student practices four days per week, twice

in private lessons. Fencing is psychologi-

cal and solitary in nature, qualities that suit

this teenager just fine. “You’re constantly

thinking about what you opponent is doing,”

Jiang says.

She is one of the only girls in the south-

east who specializes in the saber, not the foil

that most people are familiar with, so Jiang

usually trains with boys. “It really gives me

confidence when I go out for a tournament

and face girls that look larger or stronger than

me,” she says. “I can think about how I beat

a particular boy in practice, and I can go out

there and not be nervous.”

Not that she stresses herself out over

competitors. Jiang takes a low-key approach,

challenging herself rather than focusing on

beating a certain competitor or advancing

higher levels.

“I like to have small goals, like getting

a certain move down,” she says. “My phi-

losophy is be happy and do your best. It’s not

about winning.” •

Brenda Campis, tennis Unlike many athletes, Brenda Campis didn’t

grow up playing her sport of choice. In fact,

Campis, who is a member of several tennis

teams, didn’t start playing until her children

were teenagers.

“I was 38 years old before I ever picked up

a tennis racquet,” says Campis, who learned

to play so she could compete with wives of

her husband’s business associates when she

accompanied him on business trips. “I had

never played until then, but once I learned, I

went right into the leagues. Anytime anybody

wanted to play, I would play.”

Today, almost 25 years after her first les-

son, Campis remains a regular on the local

tennis circuit. “Through sports, especially

team sports, you meet so many new people

and become close friends. For me tennis is a

great social network,” she says.

Almost a decade ago, Campis came to

rely on that network in a way she never

would have imagined. After a breast cancer

diagnosis in 2001, Brenda underwent surgery

and chemotherapy. Her favorite activity and

network of friends provided support.

“I told my doctor, ‘Please don’t make me

have to give up playing tennis,’” Campis says.

“I had the surgery on Feb. 7, and I played in

my first match three weeks later. I was deter-

mined to keep playing, and I saved my energy

in order to do some of the things that I like to

do,” she adds. “I played through the chemo.”

“There were times where I was depressed,

and being able to get back out and play

was so important for me. Everyone was just

so supportive. There was always someone

jumping in and asking ‘what can I do?’” says

Campis, who is now cancer free. “Even if I

couldn’t hit the ball as hard or play my best,

there was always someone there.”

“Through sports, especially team sports, you meet so many new people and become close friends. For me tennis is a great social network.” Brenda Campis

“I can think about how I beat a

particular boy in practice, and I can

go out there and not be nervous.”

Kelly Jiang


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Warrior Women