In the land where football is king, Jennifer Welter is queen. The first female to ever play a non-kicker position in a professional football game, Welter is a running back for the  Texas Revolution.

“Yes, it’s pressure. But you know, I’m an athlete, and that’s what athletes do,” Welter said. “So you know, you have to rise up and fight hard in whatever you do, whether you’re a girl or a boy. “

It’s this type of attitude that has help Welter earn the respect of her teammates.

“She’s definitely a tough player, and I think the fact that she’s a female, it doesn’t really matter to her,” kicker Zeke Arevalo said. “Really, every time I see her out here, she’s going 100 percent. She’s got a lot of heart.”

From the moment she first signed with the team, Welter has been trying to prove she belongs and in the eyes of the team, she’s done just that.

“I think she’s done a good job. She’s worked hard and she has a lot of determination, which is a big thing,” Revolution assistant coach Eric Brown said. “So right now, even though she’s not a starting running back or anything like that, she’s just a person who works hard, and she’s a real big inspiration to the rest of our team. We’re proud of her.”

Her coaches and teammates have never questioned Welter’s contributions to the team or drive to succeed. In her eyes, her gender isn’t a barrier, it’s a propeller.

“I think that the focus should be on getting women’s football where it should be,” Welter said. “Women’s football really needs to develop, especially if American football is going to become an Olympic sport. I would really like to see some attention go that way.”

While Welter didn’t set out to be a role model for women and girls everywhere, her teammates think she’s setting an example.

“Hopefully a lot of little girls out there look up to her, because she’s breaking a barrier right now,” Arevalo said.