Competitive!

From the mid-1980's until the mid-1990's, I had opportunities to serve the Illinois High School Association in a number of capacities. My first IHSA charge was to serve on the boys' basketball advisory board. Hosting a radio sports show on WLDS (Jacksonville) led to a two-year assignment as the television color analyst for the Class AA Boys' State Basketball Finals.

At  about this time the National High School Federation implemented a coaching certification program, which replenished coaching numbers in states due to expanding sports offerings and the explosion of girls' sports' programs. I was an instructor in that program for twenty-plus years and served the IHSA as its national liaison to the American Sport Education Program. I also served on the IHSA Athletic Directors' Advisory Board.

These aforementioned opportunities aided my professional growth and gave me a terrific chance to observe the mechanism of the IHSA as the governing body of Illinois high school sports. One unique perspective observed was the great strides made in girls athletics. I recall attending junior high and high school in the 1950's. The female students then were cheerleaders and drum majors; if they wished to participate in sport competition they could do so through the GAA. The Girls' Athletic Association, which provided some intramural-style competition. There was no fan following, no press coverage and certainly no college scholarships awaiting the GAA students.

In 1972, Title IX,  a lawful mandate was enacted to offer equal opportunities to public school female students in the athletic arena. With my aforementioned IHSA opportunities, I watched with amazement the 'coming of age' in girls prep sports. In the beginning many girls sports had more than there share of critics and 'Doubting Thomas's.' In a brief decade, the likes of Jackie Joyner of East St. Loyis Lincoln high school and Jacksonville's, Francine Blackburn caught my attention and the attention of many Illinois prep basketball fans. The 'Blue-Bloomer-Clad' GAA intramural sports was a thing of the past. In the 2012-13 Volleyball season I relished the time watching granddaughter Erica Howell's Crimsons' team capture the IHSA volleyball 4th Place and I eagerly await my brother's granddaughter, Katie Roustio's final Illini volleyball campaign. IHSA girls' sports? As the long ago Virginia Slim cigarette commercial touted, "You've come a long way, Baby." />