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After a year of playing soccer in the spring and then switching to softball sophomore year, I became fully dedicated to my number one sport, field hockey. The team had emerged from the early 90s as an impressive squad, which qualified for the state finals every year after winning division championship after championship. Everyone in the school was proud of the team and spirit would shine all season long. After the fall seasons ended I kept up intense competition playing indoor field hockey, participating in a Futures program at the University of Maryland, and attending camp in the summer. Every member of the team was as equally dedicated and proud to be part of such a spectacular team.
In the fall of 1991, my freshman year at B-CC started on the playing field before classes even began. I made the junior varsity squad and started as center forward. This was only one year after the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) began a thorough self-study mandated by the Superintendent on gender equity in athletics. Almost twenty years had passed and the first formal complaint made by a young girl about the scheduling of boys' and girls' basketball games prompted the county to take action. Instead of grueling court proceedings, the county conducted extensive research and reported on the unintentional and intentional gender bias in their schools. The self-study was reviewed by a task force that gathered facts and information from surveys, personal interviews, formal and informal meetings with parents, students, and experts, as well as attending over 300 MCPS athletic events. The task force had several committee meetings as well as numerous subcommittee meetings that concluded with 66 recommendations focusing in 11 general areas. |
Copyright Molly Egan, Jason Wood; Lehigh University 1999