For one woman, a love of sports and a lack of opportunity to play them as a child, turned into a 28-year career of coaching and directing students, especially young women into sports and excelling academically.
Vickie grew up in a large family and played sports with her cousins. Her grandfather had 15 children. Vickie told Love Wisconsin, “When I was a kid, I was surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins, and some really close neighbors. There were a lot of us. When we would get together and play football, we’d have enough for 2 teams.”
Vickie’s mom grew up sneaking out of the house to play softball and she didn’t want that same fate for her daughter. “My mom would say, ‘Well you don’t need to help with the dishes, you can go out and play.’
When Vickie was in high school, Title 9 was passed. Title 9 is the law saying you can’t prohibit a student from participating in a school program based on sex.
“I remember our first uniforms,” Vickie said.
Title 9 changed everything for Vickie, she went on to excel at high school basketball and decided she could teach kids the same life lessons she learned from playing sports. “You know, maybe I want to teach too. And if I get into education, I can coach, and that’s something I’d really like to do.”
Read more of her story on Love Wisconsin.
