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MedStar SportsHealth Player Spotlight
#53 Patrice Bowman, Offensive Lineman
 Football
has always been a game for the young. The physical rigors of such a demanding
sport take a cumulative toll; the human body can only take so much punishment.
With each passing year skills erode and bodies break down. Time is the
merciless enemy: eventually age catches up to even the most gifted of
athletes.
Patrice Bowman, the dean of the DC Divas, takes great satisfaction in
throwing convention to the wind and defying father time. At thirty-seven
she is nearly geriatric in football years, the gridiron equivalent of
the biblical Methuselah. At a stage in life when most players call it
a career she continues to play with a zest and enthusiasm that defies
her age.
"I think women just peak later athletically than men," Patrice
reasons with a laugh. "At thirty I was just getting started. I don't
have any plans to slow down. The age thing doesn't come into play at all.
I plan to play at least until I'm forty."
Her longevity is all the more inspiring due to the volatile and demanding
nature of the position she occupies. Bowman makes her living playing in
"the trenches" as the Divas veteran starting center. Nowhere
on the field is the game more violent.
Patrice brushes off the brutality of the sport with a modest laugh. "Sure,
it gets rough in there sometimes, but I think I'm one of the most athletic
centers in the league. Our style of play means I have to do a lot of pulling.
I get the freedom to freelance a little. My job is to hit the first person
I see."
 "[Offensive
line] Coach [Tim] Smart wants us all to be versatile," says Bowman,
who has played nearly every position along the offensive line, as well
as linebacker. She is also an occasional lead blocker out of the backfield
in a special package known as "Metro."
"Fullback is the ultimate position. That's my favorite
thing. After the first time I said, I have seen the light."
Bowman's experience makes her a natural leader and an on-field extension
of the coaching staff. At the line of scrimmage she communicates blocking
assignments with her fellow line-mates using a special trick word vocabulary.
Between plays Patrice offers encouragement, then preps the huddle for
the quarterback. "I try to get everyone to settle down. My favorite
thing to say is, shhhhhh, I can't hear the play!"
But when Bowman talks teammates tend to listen. "There's a respect
factor there, but not because of my age. As an older woman I understand
it all a little better--the technical aspect of the game, technique, all
of the little things. I guess I'm just a take charge person."
That resolve was put to the test last year during an off-season trip to
California. Patrice was part of an all womens-team that played a full
contact gender-bowl against male counterparts. "It was tough, but
I think we earned some respect. I was in there fighting it out against
guys twice my size. It went down to the last play, but we lost it 13-6."
Ironically, the worst injury Bowman ever endured was
a broken leg suffered during a game of flag football five years ago. But
each step back can lead to a giant leap forward. The next season she joined
the Divas and has been a mainstay ever since.
 Her
toughness is nearly legendary to her teammates and coaches, as is her
stamina. As an Operations Manager for Federal Express Patrice is always
on the go. "I'm up around 5am every work day. I manage an on-road
work group, so I'm jumping in and out of a truck eight hours a day, at
least three days a week. Football is my release."
The juggling act doesn't stop there. Bowman also has two young daughters,
Heather and Joy, who serve as her inspiration. "I tell them all the
time, it's hard everyday. But whatever you put your mind to, you can do."
Perhaps that rationale is best defined by her commitment to the sport
she loves. "I finally found my niche. I live for this. After a game
my energy level is completely sapped. I'm totally spent physically and
emotionally. But when you get a win it's all worth it."
by Rich Cook
Special to www.dcdivas.com
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