Spring football is underway out in Utica, except men need not apply.

The Utica Hellcats, Central New York's only professional women’s football team, is preparing for their season, proving once again that women can do anything men can do. 

“I'm all about women empowerment and women playing football is awesome," said running back Cassie Mayden. "So I figured, why not be part of the team? And it was the best decision I ever made to be honest.” 

And you better believe these women train just as hard as the men. In fact, maybe even harder. For most, they’ve never played a single snap prior to joining the team in November.

“I've had zero experience actually. I’ve only been playing for five months. I myself am a corrections officer," said Mayden. "We have a cop on our team. We have people who work with drug and rehabilitation. We have people who work at the psych center. We really truly have people of all walks of life on our team.”

Overseeing the instruction is head coach Romell Ponder. And with players hanging on every word, Ponder might just be the perfect coach for this team. Having coached Pop Warner ball, Ponder loves teaching the fundamentals. He’s also coached women before. 

"To tell you the truth, I’ve been coaching a very long time and these wouldn't be the first ladies I've coached," Ponder said. "Dealing with Pop Warner, you are dealing with young girls, and I've dealt with them. They play the game just as hard as the men play it.”

And with these women proving they too can play a man's sport, it’s not lost on the team on how they can be role models for the next generation. 

“It empowers them to do whatever they set their minds too," Ponder said. "They play basketball just like the men do. They play hockey just like the men do. They play lacrosse just like the men do. Why can’t they play football?”