Looking for Zama American senior Monica Holman on the field of high school athletic endeavor?

Better not try the volleyball team in the gym. Nor the tennis courts. Nor Camp Zama’s pristine cross-country practice courses. You certainly won’t find her cheerleading or dancing.

Better check the land of helmets, shoulder pads, tearaway jerseys, sweat and hard knocks — the gridiron.

Holman scored on a 7-yard run Saturday in the third quarter of the Eagles’ 53-0 victory over Robert D. Edgren High School, becoming the first female to score a touchdown in a Pacific high school game.

“That was cool,” said the Jacksonville, Fla., native, who transferred to Atsugi Naval Air Facility from Hawaii two years ago. “All I saw when I looked down was the goal line. I was so happy. All my teammates started cheering and hugging me. No other feeling like it.”

Holman said she’s not trying to make a statement; she just always wanted to play football.

“I used to watch it as a kid,” she said. Her desire to play began in Hawaii, watching Kapolei High School’s team.

Two hurdles stood in the way: Kapolei’s size — and her father.

In 2000-01 school year, 375 students were in Kapolei’s freshman class alone; the football roster was 65 strong. “There were a lot of players ... so I didn’t think I would get to play,” she said.

Her father, Master Chief Petty Officer Donald Holman, knew she wouldn’t.

“I didn’t want her getting hurt,” said the elder Holman, now assigned to Atsugi. “I mean, that’s my little girl out there. I played high school ball and have bad knees and a bad back as a result.”

The daughter said transferring to Atsugi and going to Zama American — where the enrollment and football roster are less than half Kapolei’s — worked to her advantage. Getting past dad was a bit tougher. She tried soccer and, for one season, basketball.

But they just weren’t football, so in fall of 2002, Holman was among a handful of Zama American girls who asked coach Ron Geist about playing.

“She’s the only one who stayed with it,” said Geist, in his second season with the Trojans after teaching eight years in the Domestic Defense Elementary and Secondary Schools system on Guam.

Coaching girls was new, said Geist, 47, but coaching the 5-foot-10, 150-pound Holman “is fine with me.” She “holds her own,” he said. “She gets knocked down but she gets back up. She’s a tough player.”

Given her father’s reluctance, Geist kept Holman on the bench but let her practice.

Convincing the master chief to let her do more was, the girl indicated, like cutting bologna a slice at a time. To start, she said, she pointed out to dad that in soccer, “You don’t wear padding, but you still go out and slide and tackle.”

At first, Holman sought only to placekick, her father said. “I said, ‘All right, but I know once you’re out there, you still want to do more.’”

She did — and as the 2003 season approached, “she finally convinced me,” the father said. “But I told her, ‘As long as you don’t get hurt.’ I know that there’s no guarantee. I was concerned about it at first. I know the potential is there to get hurt.”

So, too, is the potential to succeed — and as Monica made her groundbreaking TD run, nobody in the stands cheered more loudly than the video camera-wielding Donald and his wife, Brenda. “All you hear on the playback,” he said, “is us, hollering and screaming.”

There’s already an indication on Okinawa that Holman won’t be the last girl in varsity shoulder pads. Suiting up on the Kubasaki Shogun junior varsity team is freshman Michelle Daniel of San Clemente, Calif., who transferred to Okinawa this summer.

Like Holman, Daniel’s desire to play took root by watching others, mainly on television. “It looked really cool,” she said.

Daniel also gets high marks from a coach. “She hasn’t missed a single minute of practice, the two-a-days, even the one Saturday three-a-day, she’s been there,” Shogun offensive coordinator Fred Bales said.

“It feels good,” said Daniel. “I like the thought of trying to intercept a pass, making a touchdown, hitting and tackling. I like the contact.”

She also indicated she likes that her teammates “treat me the same, like one of them.

“They do feel kind of bad after they hit me,” she said. “I tell them not to worry about it.”

Monica also kicked two extra points, giving her more points in the game — eight — than senior captain and fullback Russ Casimire, who added a touchdown run to the offensive fireworks.

“I think she should get more playing time,” Casimire said.

And the other players?

No one has shown resentment, Casimire said emphatically. “If there is, they keep that to themselves.

“I like the diversity,” he said. “Our team is pretty well-blended this year. It’s all about team.”

“They treat me like their little sister,” Holman said. “It’s like being part of a family. I’m happy to be a part of them.”

Her at first reluctant father said he’s now “most definitely proud” — but not surprised. He knows his daughter: “When she puts her mind to something, she accomplishes it.”

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