Title IX changed my life. It has allowed me to live my dream as a student-athlete, a teacher, a coach, an official, a mother, and now as a grandmother. But even before the passage of Title IX federal legislation, my athletic journey started when I was very young in Milaca. I was five years old, a year younger than my brother, Bruce, when my dad brought us to play t-ball. What possessed my dad to bring us both down, I’ll never know, because it was 1963 and “girls didn’t play ball.” But I’m so thankful for forward-thinking men like my dad and Herb Claffy. My dad introduced us, and asked Mr. Claffy if it was OK if I played. I’ll never forget his answer that was loud, proud and bold enough so all the boys could hear it, too: “Why of course you can play, put your glove on and go to first base.” I put the glove on the wrong hand and ran to third. I didn’t know the bases or how to play . . . yet. It wasn’t in the cards for my brother to continue to play, but I never stopped going. I played every summer through the sixth grade.
