CRANBERRY TWP — Being part of a team helps Erin Danik, who is athletic and tall for her age, build confidence and make friends.

But when she slides her helmet on over her ponytail, she can't help but stand out.

"I just thought it would be a fun sport to play," says Erin, a daughter of Stephen and Lori Danik of Cranberry, who is helping usher in a new tradition for the Seneca Valley Junior Football Association of Cranberry Township.

"I guess it's just different to see a girl on the football field," says her mother, Lori, of her daughter's spot on the 6- and 7-year-old Stallions team.

"She wanted to play last year and I would not even check into it. I didn't think they would let her."

This year Erin was relentless in her pursuit of a uniform, and her mother gave in.

But before her coaches could put her to work on the gridiron, the spirited 7-year-old had to shake a few tackles at home.

"We had some concern because we're afraid she'll get hurt," Lori Danik says.

Injury is not really a concern for Erin. She's too busy breaking down the opposition.

"It's like her alter-ego comes out," Lori Danik says. "She is very caring … but when she gets out on the field and makes a good play, she'll hit her helmet."

Weighing less than 90 pounds fully equipped, the second grader plays both defensive tackle and offensive guard.

"At first we were a little apprehensive, but then they had a week of pre-practice," Lori Danik says. "Once (the coaches) got out there and saw she could run with the rest of them, they really got a feel for what she could do."

Though Erin is the first female that Scott Cook, the Stallions head coach, has coached, he had no reservations about making her part of his squad.

"When I first saw Erin at clinics we did, I looked at her and she definitely had the ability and she picked things up so quickly," he says.

Every Saturday, the Stallions travel as far as Canon-McMillan and South Fayette schools to play. On either side of the ball, Erin is instrumental in supporting her all-male teammates, helping the Stallions remain undefeated, 4-0.

"I think Erin is something else. She really fits in well with the entire team," says Cook. "No one looks at Erin as anything different, she's just one of the players. There is not one issue with Erin being a girl."

At the beginning of the season, a few boys questioned why Erin would choose football, Lori Danik says. By sidestepping little girls' traditional roles, other parents have helped her daughter feel accepted.

"They're all one big happy family, they play with her well and I really think it starts with parents," she says.

Erin had no trouble befriending her teammates.

"I fit in with all the boys," she says.

Cook stresses that team effort on and off the field has been a gender-inclusive learning experience.

"I think it's a positive for everyone having her on the team," he says. "Our success we've had up to this point is good because of what we've accomplished as the Stallions."

Erin has learned just as much from the boys.

"She's a very caring type of person. She's very athletic but she never had the competitiveness, the confidence to just go and be and this has really built her confidence in herself," Lori Danik says.

Erin has already decided she will play again next year, and aspires to make the varsity team when she reaches high school.

Lori Danik is advising her daughter to practice kicking instead of tackling.

"Not to downplay kickers or anything, but there's going to come a point in time where her body is not going to keep up with the boys," she says.

For now mom is happy her daughter is enjoying the game.

"I think it's such a change in today's society that its accepted and I hope it continues to be accepted," she said.