Chapter 8: My (Athletic) Life

I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that being a member of the athletic community saved my life. Of course, this is certainly something I could not have foreseen as a young girl, growing up in the pre-Title IX¹ Midwest. In my years as a child and pre-teen, I played every sport possible, usually in an informal manner such as playground pick-up games or on a vacant lot after school or on weekends. There were no sports groups for girls in school. Even after Title IX came into effect, it took years before the small-town schools I attended in southern and central Illinois even tried to offer organized teams or the opportunity of equal access for participation.