Opening Opportunities, Opening Minds

What does Title IX mean to me personally? It means that it is not considered remarkable that my seven-year old daughter plays soccer and basketball. And she loves playing sports, which I love. What a joy it is to see the satisfaction she gets playing on her girls' soccer team, as she learns new skills, develops strength and self-confidence, becomes accustomed to a healthy level of physical activity, and deepens her friendships through the camaraderie of working as a team. She just started co-ed basketball, and there are only a handful of girls playing, but enough that she was willing to give it a try because she knew she would not be the only girl.

I am living vicariously through her. I was born the same year Title IX was passed, and although a lot changed while I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, still it was assumed in my family that my younger brother would play soccer, basketball and baseball while I would take ballet, ice skating, and gymnastics. Those are all great activities, but I really would have loved to play soccer. There was a girls' soccer team in our county league when I was in elementary school, and my parents now say they would have signed me up if I had expressed interest, but it was never presented as a real option for me and I did not feel encouraged, so it did not occur to me to express interest. There I was, week after week, for years, going to soccer games to watch my brother play and hand out orange slices during breaks.

So much has changed since then. I am grateful that my daughter has opportunities I did not have, and I love watching her embrace those opportunities with an open mind. As for my brother, he did not turn out to be much of an athlete, and I can now run circles around him (in high school and afterwards, I took an interest in running, which became a passion for me). You win some, you lose some!